The Irish Nurses' Organisation has accused the Health Service Executive of misleading the public over the state of Accident and Emergency services.
It says claims by the HSE today that there has been a 20% reduction in the number of people in A&E departments in Dublin waiting for a bed are inaccurate.
However, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive has promised there will be real and measurable improvements in the health service in 2006.
Pat McLoughlin told RTÉ News that more patients will be treated outside Dublin and hospitals will be encouraged to spread operations across the week. He said the numbers of trolley waits will be reduced.
Mr McLoughlin’s comments follow confirmation from the HSE earlier that new or redeveloped A&E departments in three major hospitals in Dublin will be up and running early this year.
A new A&E department is due to open at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin this month while the redevelopment of the A&E unit at St James's Hospital is almost complete. The new A&E admissions unit at the Mater Hospital is due to be fully operational shortly.
The HSE says it hopes to improve A&E services in the capital by carrying out elective surgery on patients who live outside of Dublin at hospitals in their own region.
It also hopes to make more beds available early in the working week by deferring admissions for non-emergency surgery to later in the week.
However, patients' groups, nurses and the IMO have given a mixed reaction to the new measures.
The IMO said admitting patients later in the week is not workable.
On RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, the IMO President, Asam Ishtiaq, said there were issues of capacity and patient choice.
The IMO says while new A&E units will improve the quality of care for patients they will not lessen the problem of people on trolleys waiting to be admitted.
Patients’ groups say they would welcome any plan to reduce numbers on trolleys but say they need to see results.
