Overcrowding in hospital accident and emergency departments reached its worst levels yesterday, with 365 patients awaiting admission to beds at one stage, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has claimed.
The claims came as the Government said that it would "keep under review" the introduction of maximum waiting times for patients in A&E departments.
The INO said that the Wexford and Clonmel general hospitals were "in chaos" .
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said last night that there were 29 patients on trolleys at Wexford General Hospital and a further 16 in the South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel.
"These patients are being given the best possible clinical care whilst waiting for a bed. The staff in both hospitals are continuing to provide the highest standards of care in very demanding circumstances", it said in a statement.
The INO said the A&E department at Wexford was designed to hold only four trolleys at a time.
The organisation said there was major over-crowding in Clonmel, "with trolleys being packed into every available space".
The INO said there were 349 people on trolleys awaiting admission to hospitals in the Republic last night. At one stage yesterday afternoon, the figure peaked at 365 patients.
The INO said that other hospitals affected by overcrowding were Sligo, Letterkenny, Limerick and Cavan.
The Health Service Executive told The Irish Times last night that there were around 30 people awaiting admission to the general hospital in Letterkenny and around 18 on trolleys in Sligo.
All non-urgent admissions to both hospitals have been cancelled for today and the position would be reviewed on a daily basis for the rest of the week, the HSE said.
The INO said there were more than 160 patients on trolleys in the main Dublin hospitals. It claimed there were 32 patients awaiting beds in Tallaght, 30 in Beaumont and 25 in the Mater.
The general secretary of the INO, Mr Liam Doran, said last night that the over-crowding in accident and emergency departments had now reached record levels.
He said the Government had to increase bed capacity in hospitals and invest in primary care.
A spokesman for the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, said last night that she would keep under review the introduction of maximum waiting times for patients in accident and emergency units as part of the implementation of a 10-point package to ease pressure in this area.
The director of population health at the HSE, Dr Pat Doorley, said that hospital accident and emergency departments had been very busy in recent days partly due to an increased incidence of respiratory infections.
The HSE said while Ms Harney had approved a €70 million package, it would "take some time to address all the capacity and other issues involved".
