The Health Service Executive has opened a new Accident and Emergency Department in St Vincent's Hospital in south Dublin today.
The new A&E unit is part of a major €220 million capital development at the hospital.
Within the new development, the resuscitation area will include three bays with all the life support technology and equipment required to resuscitate critically ill and injured patients.
A new high dependency area will facilitate admission initiatives and a new Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) will allow patients to be investigated and treated according to agreed protocols and within agreed time intervals.
The opening is part of the HSE’s plan to provide three hospitals in the capital with improved A&E facilities.
Renovations to the casualty units at St James's and the Mater hospitals are due to get under way in the next couple of months.
Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses Organisation has said that 406 patients were waiting on trolleys in A&E departments this morning, down from yesterday's figure of 422.
The INO says this is the fourth time the figure has surpassed the 400 mark.
A&E situation a shambles: McManus
The Labour Spokesperson on Health, Liz McManus, said the situation was a shambles that shows up the utter failure of the Government's A&E plan, launched by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, over a year ago.
According to the INO, there were 48 people on trolleys in Tallaght Hospital this morning, 32 in Naas General Hospital, 31 in Beaumont Hospital and 30 in Wexford General Hospital.
The HSE has said that it closely monitors activity in 35 A&E departments nationwide and detailed figures showing the number of patients waiting in A&E departments for admission to hospitals are compiled each weekday.
Each acute hospital gives numbers of people waiting in A&E where a decision to admit has been made.
The figures are compiled after hospital rounds have been made, so as to give a true picture of those who are actually awaiting admission on each day.
