Overcrowding got worse at Kildare's main hospital in April
More than 330 people were treated on trolleys in April
Overcrowding at Naas Hospital worsened last month when compared with April 2025.
Some 330 people were treated on trolleys at the facility during the month while 260 people were treated on trolleys for the same period a year ago.
Comparisons with April overcrowding figures in previous years show there were 357 patients on trolleys in 2024, 242 in 2023 and 235 in 2022.
April 2019 returned the highest figure (432) since the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation began recording the numbers of patients being treated on trolley figures, having been admitted through accident and emergency departments.
According to the INMO April 2026 represents the worst April on record for overcrowding, with 11,175 patients waiting for hospital beds around the country.
The union said that investment is needed in nurse and midwife-led services in acute and community settings.
INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: “There is no reason for us to be breaking records at this time of year, in a mild month, with no particular crisis preventing the smooth functioning of the health service, 11,000 people being treated in corridors is inexcusable.
“The long-term degradation of their working environment has a profound effect on our members and we know that this affects their careers and their wellbeing.
“INMO members are about to head into their annual conference, where once again burnout, and the effects of inadequate staffing will be central topics of discussion and debate.
“Members’ work, their energy, mental capacity and enthusiasm for nursing, are all continuously affected by shortfalls in the health system. Stress takes energy and focus away from their personal and professional goals and affects their capacities to advance their practice and their professions.”
She added it’s deeply unjust and a disservice to members and their patients that we are seeing these figures at the beginning of summer, and the fact that nurses continue to go to work and provide the best care they can in these conditions is a testament to their own commitment.
“It is time to invest seriously in staffing and capacity in acute and community facilities rather than continuing to impose this psychological tax on nurses and endanger their patients’ health and outcomes.”