No end in sight to overcrowding as 34 patients wait on a bed at St Luke's in Kilkenny today

St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny is tied with Letterkenny as the third-most overcrowded hospital in the country today, according to figures from the INMO.

There are 34 people waiting on a bed in the Emergency Department and on wards, the figures say. On Wednesday, there were 29.

Patients are reporting long wait times at the ED, as the hospital struggles to cope with presentations. It's possible a surge in Covid is responsible, as yesterday's (March 10) figures from the HSE suggest 28 confirmed cases at the local hospital.

In previous years, a winter/seasonal flu surge has seen high figures in December and January and going into February, but trolley figures have been very high so far this March.