 
                            2023 has been the worst year on record for hospital overcrowding, according to the INMO.
Sinn Féin has called the number of people on trolleys in hospital emergency departments a "real crisis".
INMO figures show more than 121,000 patients went without a hospital bed this year - a record high.
Over 3,000 of those were in the midlands, with the majority of that figure coming from the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar.
The HSE is challenging the figures - saying they're actually down 6%.
Sinn Féin's Health Spokesperson David Cullinane says hospital overcrowding is still a major concern:
 
                             
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