The Irish Nurses Organisation called in the Health and Safety Authority last month because of chronic overcrowding in the A&E unit of St James' In Dublin, it has emerged.
And the Western Health Board closed its main hospital in Galway to all but emergencies because its emergency unit could not take any more patients. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach said that the Government has committed an enormous amount of extra resources to the health services, which are continuing to improve.
Yesterday's RTÉ News report about the conditions in Beaumont hospital's emergency department, where ambulances were turned away for two hours because of overcrowding, led to noisy scenes in the Dáil this morning.
Labour leader Ruairí Quinn accused the Taoiseach of complacency at what he described as the "extraordinary conditions" in the city's A&E units. Michael Noonan, Fine Gael leader, quoted the hospital CEO's remark that conditions could not get any worse. But the Taoiseach contended that the health service is improving.
