Nearly 500 people are waiting for a hospital bed on trolleys and wards around the country.

Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) claim the figure is at 460 - with 337 people on trolleys and 123 on wards.

University Hospital Limerick and University Hospital Galway are the highest, with 49 people waiting for a bed in each hospital.

This is followed by Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown with 25 people on trolleys and wards, South Tipperary General Hospital with 34 and St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny at 31.

The figures are a drop from a record high of 714 people who were waiting for a bed earlier this month.