Sinn Féin is calling for 5,000 hospital beds to be added to the system to tackle overcrowding.

HSE figures show over 100,000 patients left emergency departments before they were seen in 2024.

Sinn Féin has labelled this "shocking" and called for extra capacity to be added to hospitals and community healthcare units.

Health spokesperson David Cullinane says the current situation is down to a "decade of failure" by multiple Governments.

“Right now what needs to happen is the Minister delivers the 5,000 beds which are necessary right across all of the hospitals,” he said.

“There's a need for more community beds, because patients can't be discharged if the beds are not there and while the Minister has shone a spotlight on hospital consultants working at weekends, that's only one small part of what's needed to sort this problem.”

Ambulances outside Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

Deputy Cullinane said the fact there's a new Health Minister in place isn't an acceptable excuse for this issue to continue.

“The Minister is part of a Government that has been in Government now for the best part of 14 years or more,” he said.

“We've also, of course, had Fianna Fáil in Government before that.

“They have to take responsibility for almost a decade of failure in putting the beds into our hospitals [and] of providing the alternative pathways in the community.”

INMO figures show that over 500 patients were on trolleys in hospitals today, with over a fifth of those in University Hospital Limerick.

A busy hospital. Image: Alamy

Deputy Cullinane said this problem has been allowed to exist for too long.

“All of this obviously shows the crisis that we have in our hospitals, the level of overcrowding that we have so many people, almost thousands on a weekly basis, who are leaving without being seen, who have their surgeries and their appointments cancelled because of the overcrowding in our hospitals,” he said.

Deputy Cullinane said the volume of people waiting on hospital trolleys is averaging well over 500 on a daily basis.

Hospital beds at Beacon Hospital on the day of the official opening of the new hospital, Sandyford, Dublin. 25/10/2006 Photo Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland