Dublin hospital among worst for overcrowding

A major Dublin hospital has been named among the worst in the State for overcrowding, as new figures reveal that more than 114,000 patients were admitted to Irish hospitals last year without ever being allocated a bed.

The data shows St Vincent’s University Hospital recorded thousands of patients left on trolleys or treated in other inappropriate spaces during 2025.

According to the latest TrolleyWatch figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, a total of 114,029 patients were admitted to hospital without a bed over the course of the year, including 1,248 children.

The figures underline the continuing scale of the overcrowding crisis across the health service, despite repeated assurances that capacity and staffing issues would be addressed.
St Vincent’s University Hospital ranked fifth among the most overcrowded hospitals in the country, with 6,692 patients admitted without a bed.

The Dublin hospital was listed alongside University Hospital Limerick, University Hospital Galway, Cork University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital as the worst affected nationally.

The Dublin figures highlight the sustained pressure on the capital’s hospitals, which continue to operate at or beyond capacity while serving a growing population.

Overcrowding in major Dublin hospitals has long been blamed for lengthy waits in emergency departments, care delivered in corridors and mounting strain on frontline staff.

Commenting on the figures, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said another year had passed with an unacceptably high number of patients being treated in unsuitable conditions.

“Yet another year has passed with an unacceptably high number of patients being treated on trolleys, chairs and in other inappropriate bed spaces,” she said.

“Nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals must not continue to shoulder public anger arising from repeated failures in planning across the health service.”

While the union acknowledged a slight reduction in the number of patients treated in inappropriate spaces compared with previous years, it warned that this had been offset by an increased reliance on surge beds that are not properly staffed.

“While there has been a slight reduction in the number of patients being treated in an inappropriate space in our hospitals, the reliance on surge beds, which are not properly staffed, is a cause of concern,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

She said urgent action was needed on staffing, beginning with the immediate filling of funded posts across the system and a renewed focus on capacity and working conditions.

“There needs to be a turning point in how healthcare staffing is planned and managed, and it needs to start with an immediate filling of all funded posts while also focusing on capacity, staffing and conditions across acute and community services,” she said.

The INMO said its members were reporting that persistent staffing gaps were undermining their ability to deliver safe and timely care, a situation felt acutely in busy Dublin hospitals.

“Our members are reporting that persistent staffing gaps across the public health service are undermining their ability to deliver safe and timely care,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

“The continued use of trolleys and reliance on surge capacity mean that too many nurses are routinely working short-staffed.”

She warned that in many hospitals unfilled rosters were becoming the norm rather than the exception.

“In many hospitals, unfilled rosters are becoming the norm rather than the exception, creating increasingly unsafe conditions for both nurses and patients in our hospitals,” she said.

The figures come despite assurances given to healthcare unions earlier this year that recruitment would be prioritised.

In March, unions were told that barriers to recruitment would be removed and that filling vacant posts would be a key focus for the HSE. However, the INMO said more than 6,500 funded posts remain vacant across the public health service.

“In March healthcare unions were assured that recruitment of posts would be a priority for the HSE, it is clear that this couldn’t be further from the case as over 6,500 funded posts are still vacant,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

She added that authority was still not being delegated to clinical decision makers to fill posts where they were most urgently needed.

“We were told barriers to recruitment would be removed, yet authority is not being delegated to allow clinical decision-makers to fill
posts,” she said.