Nurses at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, are to stage a protest this afternoon to highlight overcrowding at the facility.

Yesterday over 540 people were waiting for beds in hospitals around the country.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have said staff have repeatedly raised concerns about the situation at St Vincent's.

The demonstration will take place between 1-2pm today.

INMO industrial relations officer Philip McAnenly has said that recently one patient was left waiting more than 4 days for a bed in St Vincent's.

“In recent weeks it isn’t unusual to have patients, we have patients, waiting 60 hours, 70 hours, admitted in the emergency department,” he said.

“On one occasion last week there was a patient who waited 100 hours in the Emergency Department, that is not sustainable, that is high risk, reckless in fact to try and manage people who are ill, who are at their weakest moment, in such an environment, in such conditions.”