Serious overcrowding was reported at a number of accident and emergency units yesterday. Among the worst affected were casualty departments at hospitals in Castlebar and Wexford.
Elective surgery has again been cancelled today at Wexford General Hospital, where there were 17 patients on trolleys awaiting beds yesterday.
At Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar there were 17 patients on trolleys yesterday morning. The Western Health Board, which runs the hospital, said that figure dropped to 11 at lunchtime.
Dr Patrick McKiernan, clinical director of Wexford General Hospital, said it was "entirely unacceptable" that people were spending days and days on trolleys in his hospital. "This is a problem that we have known for many years was going to happen and 3½ years ago they agreed to fast-track 19 beds for us ... despite that nothing has happened," he said.
There were also patients on trolleys at of other hospitals, including nine at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and 16 at St Vincent's Hospital Dublin.