The overcrowding of accident and emergency departments was described by the Irish Nurses' Organisation yesterday as a "national emergency".
At 8 a.m. yesterday 33 patients were waiting on trolleys for admission in the A&E department of the Mid West Regional Hospital in Limerick.
The INO general secretary, Mr Liam Doran, said staff had to struggle through the night to care for their patients "in this overcrowded and inherently dangerous environment".
The hospital management was making ongoing efforts but simply did not have enough acute hospital beds. "And, with no allocation for additional bed capacity from the Department of Health and Children, the problem is set to continue," Mr Doran said.
"The situation this morning was more reminiscent of an overburdened field hospital than an acute trauma centre."
He pointed out that under the Hanly plan this A&E department would be the only fully functioning such unit in the mid-west.
Also yesterday morning, 42 patients on chairs or trolleys were awaiting admission in Tallaght Hospital's A&E department, while 37 waited in similar circumstances in Naas.
The INO has called on the Department of Health to increase acute bed capacity and strengthen structures for care in the community.
The nurses' body is meeting the Eastern Regional Health Authority on Friday to seek solutions to the crisis.
Mr Doran said the situation warranted "immediate and radical measures" and he said the ERHA must have the necessary resources to address the problem.
"The continuing reluctance of health service management, at all levels, to declare the situation a crisis warranting immediate additional funding and other measures is bewildering, unacceptable and insulting to the patients and staff who have to endure this overcrowding first hand," he said.
The work environment was so stressful that staff were leaving A&E services, thus further worsening staff shortages, Mr Doran added.
