So far, it’s been the most overcrowded year at St Luke’s Hospital since trolley watch figures began there, according to the INMO.
However, there was a slight drop in the number of people waiting on trolleys for the month of July this year, compared with last year.
2,456 is the number of people who were without a bed and lying on trolleys in St Luke’s Hospital for Carlow/Kilkenny between January and July 2017.
That’s an increase of 500 on the same period last year.
The figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show the local emergency department is within the top 10 busiest in the country so far, out of a total of 33 hospitals.
Limerick has experienced the most overcrowding, at 4,782.
However, the stats also show there was a very slight improvement locally for the month of July.
Last year there were 348 patients on trolleys – down from 390 in 2015 – and last month that had again dropped to 345.
Trolley watch records for St Luke’s began in 2011.