Cork hospitals see 50% rise in patients on trolleys

Overcrowding in Cork hospitals increased nearly 50% between April 2025 and April 2026, data from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has shown.

There were 917 patients treated on trolleys in Cork University Hospital last month, making it the third most overcrowded hospital in the country, behind University Hospital Galway (1,003) and University Hospital Limerick (1,954).

The CUH figure is up 37% from the 667 patients on trolleys recorded by the INMO the same month a year previous, but below figures recorded between 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Mercy University Hospital saw its worst April on record for overcrowding, with 436 people treated on trolleys, up from 236 in April 2025.

Nationally, April 2026 was also the worst April on record for overcrowding, with 11,175 patients treated on trolleys in hospitals across Ireland, up 30% from the previous year.

There were a further 38 patients treated on trolleys in Bantry General Hospital, bringing the monthly total to 1,391 — up 47% from 945 in April last year.

So far this year, 5,974 patients have been treated on trolleys in one of the three Cork hospitals, up from 5,728 this time last year. The union has stated that investment is needed in nurse and midwife-led services in acute and community settings.

Yesterday, there were 32 people on trolleys in CUH, and a further seven in the Mercy. So far this month, 88 people have been treated on trolleys in CUH, with 14 in the Mercy.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the April figures were “inexcusable”.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

The INMO’s annual delegate conference is set to take place next weekend, and Ms Ní Sheaghdha said staffing and burnout will be central topics of discussion.

She said: “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.

“It is 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.”