Beaumont should be off-call due to severe overcrowding - nurses

Beaumont Hospital in Dublin should be taken off-call for dealing with emergency patients immediately for an extended period due to severe overcrowding, nurses have urged.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said there were currently 92 patients in the hospital's emergency department.

The union said that 38 of these patients were waiting on trolleys and chairs to be admitted to a hospital bed.

The INMO said “very few beds are expected to become available in the coming hours meaning that the situation is set to deteriorate further”.

INMO industrial relations officer Lorraine Monaghan said: "This situation is unsafe yet nothing is being done to address it. Patients are at serious risk and staff are at breaking point.

"The INMO wrote to HIQA seeking an urgent inspection with regard to the on-going overcrowding problem in Beaumont emergency department and the substantial risk to patients. However, HIQA advised that, while they recognise the seriousness of risks, they do not have resources to carry out any such inspection.

“This is an appalling situation where the national health watchdog cannot carry out its basic function.”

The INMO said that in the meantime, it was imperative that the hospital goes off call immediately for an extended period until the overcrowding is brought back under control.

A spokesman for HIQA did not comment on the claims.