University Hospital Kerry was among the most over-crowded hospitals nationwide this September.
More than 420 (422) patients waited on trolleys in UHK during the month, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation.
The Tralee-based hospital is one of five hospitals that have experienced their worst-ever September for overcrowding this month.
422 people were waiting on trolleys during September in UHK; that's more than a 57% increase when compared to 2020, when 268 were on trolleys there during the same month.
It's also up on the previous year (2019), when 283 patients were on trolleys at UHK.
The Tralee based hospital only had 11 patients waiting on trolleys during the month of September in 2008; that figure increased year-on-year until 2016.
UHK is one of five hospitals to have had more patients on trolleys this September than any other year - the others were Cork University Hospital, Mercy University Hospital (Cork), Letterkenny University Hospital, and Portiuncula Hospital.
Overall, it's the second-worst-ever September for overcrowding in Ireland, with 8,414 on trolleys this month; the worst-ever September was in 2019, with 10,641 on trolleys.
Overcrowding figures reached record lows in 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic response, but INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who is from Ventry, says their members are sounding the alarm across the country, adding we are rapidly returning to the bad old days of overcrowding.
She says COVID remains a significant threat and winter is fast approaching.
