There was an increase of over 50 per cent in local hospital overcrowding for the month of May, compared to the same time ten years ago.
That's according to newly-released figures from the INMO.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has been analysing the level of overcrowding in hospitals across the country per a monthly basis, and how the numbers compared to the same period ten years ago.
In May of this year, there were a total of 992 patients waiting on trolleys in hospitals serving the Shannonside region.
This includes 782 patients in Sligo University Hospital - the highest in the region - 123 in Mullingar hospital, and 87 in Portiuncula.
This comes at a 54 per cent increase on figures from May 2016, when the total number of patients waiting on trolleys was 644 across the three hospitals.
The highest level of overcrowding ten years ago was seen at Mullingar Hospital, with 445 patients on trolleys in the month of May.
Nationally, overcrowding remains a growing problem, with 9,811 patients on trolleys last month, an increase of 48 per cent on the same time a decade ago.
