There has been a sharp increase in the number of patients waiting on trolleys at hospitals across the country.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation there are 527 people waiting on a bed, up from 417 yesterday.

Letterkenny General Hospital is the most overcrowded at 38, followed by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where there are 35 patients on trolleys.

Overall, there are 372 on trolleys with 155 waiting in overflow wards.