INMO Calls For Emergency Meeting With HSE To Discuss Unacceptable Level Of Overcrowding In Hospitals

Saturday, 19 June 2021 15:12

The nurses union wrote to the health service yesterday, outlining their concerns with overcrowding in A&E departments

They say members are working in 'hazardous conditions' and don't have the reserves to cope with the level of pressure facing them.

2,800 patients have been treated on trolleys so far this month, which is almost double the same period last year.

Yesterday, 42 patients were still waiting for beds following admission at CUH, which was the highest figure in the country.

Tony Fitzpatrick, Director of Industrial Relations at the INMO, says overcrowding in emergency departments is not acceptable: #

"All we've seen is an increase in attendances, increases in in admissions, and therefore there's a need for an engagement with the HSE about how we're going to deal with the crowding situation. We can't go back to the bad old days of overcrowding. That's just not acceptable, and when we have COVID-19 in the community, and now we have new variants, it's vitally important that we don't allow our emergency departments to become crowded again."