The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation say two hospitals in Cork are among five around the country that experienced their worst-ever overcrowding this September.
The union record the numbers of patients on trolleys every day, and say Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital as well as Portiuncula, Letterkenny and University Hospital Kerry all saw higher numbers of people waiting for a bed than any other year.
A spokesperson for the INMO says overcrowding figures reached record lows in 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic, but is warning that hospitals are "returning to the bad old days".
