The Minister for Health has said that safe nurse staffing will be rolled out in every hospital.
Stephen Donnelly told the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation annual conference that the task now is to recruit over 800 extra nurses and healthcare assistants.
Safe nurse staffing means having enough nursing or midwifery staff with the right knowledge and skills, in the right place, at the right time to provide safe and quality care to patients and service users.
Mr Donnelly said that since last year, 2,100 more nurses and midwives are working in the HSE.
He told delegates on the final day of the conference that he recognised the challenges faced by nurses and midwives, including burnout, the after effects of dealing with Covid-19, and how difficult it is to work in overcrowded emergency departments.
Mr Donnelly said the health service must have a sustainable pipeline of nurses and midwives for the years to come.
He said the plan is to double the number of college places for nursing and midwifery.
The Minister said he has asked for a further 400 student places from September.
INMO president Karen McGowan said that since the last time Minister Donnelly addressed the nurses' conference, over 128,084 patients have been treated on trolleys or chairs while waiting for a hospital bed.
She said this was absolutely shocking and something that the Government should not be willing to stand over.
She said that the turnover rates in the profession have now reached over 10%, and that this cannot be allowed to increase.
Meanwhile, the INMO has said that there are currently 551 admitted patients waiting for beds this morning. Todays Trolley Watch figures state that 412 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 139 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.
