Galway Bay fm newsroom - Full capacity protocol was implemented at University Hospital Galway 135 times so far this year.
The protocol is a hospital’s highest measure for dealing with emergency department overcrowding.
It's implemented as part of a national system wide escalation framework.
Nationally, hospitals activated emergency full capacity protocols more than 1500 times in the first five months of the year.
University Hospital Limerick has recorded the highest number of full capacity protocols at 153, followed by Waterford with 151, Cork with 137 and UHG with 135.
The figures come after claims there are up to 350 preventable deaths every year due to overcrowding.
At 2, hear Sinn Fein Health Spokesperson, Louise O' Reilly who says the figures demonstrate how serious the overcrowding crisis is...
