A new plan to increase the number of emergency department nurses and healthcare assistants has been published by the Department of Health.
It aims to have around 90 nurses and healthcare assistants recruited over the next few years.
The report called 'Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in Adult Care Settings in Ireland 2022' sets out for the first time a method to determine the appropriate number of nurses and healthcare assistants needed for emergency departments and injury units based on the number of patients presenting and their care needs.
It is expected that around half of the 90 nurses will be recruited this year.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation estimates that there are around ten nurse vacancies in each of about 30 emergency departments.
At the launch of the plan, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that emergency departments were under intense and relentless pressure, with some more affected than others.
For this plan, €3 has been made available to the Health Service Executive.
Minister Donnelly said that the solutions differ from hospital to hospital.
Some sites need more specialist nurses, others more space and others more diagnostics.
He said the aim was to cut the time to triage, diagnose and admit patients.
The HSE has been asked to look at every emergency department in the country.
Minister Donnelly said that the framework was not a one size fits all policy.
