Patients attending the Emergency Departments at South Tipp General or University Hospital Limerick can expect lengthy delays today.
South Tipp General Hospital is dealing with one of its busiest days this year with 40 patients without a bed.
22 of these are on trolleys around the emergency department while 18 are being cared for in overflow areas of already full wards.
The Clonmel hospital is one of the busiest in the country today.
Management at South Tipp General is asking members of the public to only attend in the case of a genuine emergency, advising that, where possible, a GP or Caredoc out of hours service be consulted in the first instance.
The current situation has led to the postponement and/or rescheduling of a number of planned (non-emergency) inpatient procedures.
Those who have had their procedures postponed will be contacted with a new appointment date as quickly as possible.
Front line staff at University Hospital Limerick are also under pressure today.
The Dooradoyle hospital – which caters for North Tipp, Limerick and Clare – has 39 people without a bed.
University Hospital Galway tops the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations trolley watch list today with 47 patients on trolleys while Cork University Hospital has 42.
Nationally the nursing union is reporting 516 people without a bed today.
