44 waiting for a bed at north west hospitals

There were 44 patients waiting on trolleys at the north west's two main hospitals this morning.

There were 36 waiting at Sligo University Hospital, the third highest figure in the country, while a further 8 were waiting at Letterkenny University Hospital.

University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded facility in the country today with 87 people waiting there.

Nationally, today's figure stood at 488, 14 of which were under 16.