14 children are waiting on hospital trolleys for a bed at Temple Street Hospital today, the Irish Independent reports.

An spike in winter-related illness is thought to be the reason for the overcrowding, with a total of 18 children lying on trollies across the country.

Temple Street has advised parents to assess whether their child can be seen by a GP before attending the hospital. 

A spokeswoman said:

"Given the time of year, the Emergency Department is also seeing an increase in patients, particularly very young children (under five years of age) and babies, with gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.

“In this regard Temple Street is asking parents to think about all their care and treatment options including their local family GP and GP out of hours service before attending the emergency department.”

She added that if a child is seriously ill or their life is at risk “we will assess and treat your child as a priority.”.

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