PATIENT OVERCROWDING HAS reached dangerous levels, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The INMO is calling for the hospital’s emergency department to be taken off call for 48 hours to allow the department’s patient overcrowding to ease.

In a statement, the organisation said that “55 patients are awaiting an in-patient bed resulting in inhuman and degrading conditions for both patients and staff”.

It says that 29 clinically discharged patients in the hospital cannot be discharged due to the lack of available community beds or services.

INMO industrial relations officer Tony Fitzpatrick said, “You cannot keep the doors open when the emergency department is so overcrowded.”

All ambulances should be diverted for a 48 hour period in order to treat patients already admitted to the hospital. We are also calling for an immediate cap to be placed on the number of patients who can be looked after within the ED including the number of patients on trolleys.

The INMO also expressed concerns over understaffing and the shortage of basic equipment, impacting both on patient care and the pressure on staff.

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