Doctors and nursing staff at University Hospital Galway say overcrowding at the emergency department is now endangering the lives of people in the region.
Management implemented a full capacity protocol for the second day in succession, as the number of people waiting for admission to the hospital continues to grow.
This afternoon, more than 50 people were waiting to be admitted: 36 of them were on trolleys and chairs in the emergency department, with around 15 other patients lying on trolleys on wards around the hospital.
The Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation has called on the Taoiseach to visit the emergency department, so that he can see the conditions facing patients and staff there.
Doctors and nurses say overcrowding at University Hospital Galway is endangering lives, reports @patmcgrath pic.twitter.com/3CIeXUk6Gv
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 9, 2016
Enda Kenny is due in Galway tomorrow, for a series of engagements in the city.
Anne Burke of the INMO has appealed to Mr Kenny to witness the pressure caused by overcrowding on a daily basis first hand.
Ms Burke said conditions in the emergency department have never been as bad as they are this week, with every available space being used to cater for a large number of patients.
The situation has been compounded by all wards being at full capacity across the hospital, which has meant several trolleys have been placed on wards, in an effort to accommodate patients.
A 90-year-old woman is entering her third day on a trolley in the emergency department.
The patient presented at the department more than 72 hours ago. Many others have been waiting to be admitted for more than 48 hours.
The INMO has said there is little or no prospect of an adequate number of discharges to ease the situation.
It said that nursing staff are not in a position to deal with any extra pressure that might arise as a result of a serious accident or emergency.
It is understood that hospital management yesterday proposed erecting temporary partitions in a waiting area to increase capacity but this suggestion was rejected by staff as being an unsuitable solution.
A significant number of people have presented at the emergency department in recent days, many of them frail and elderly.
The situation deteriorated to such an extent today that even trolley capacity was exhausted and those being treated by nurses and doctors had to be seen on chairs around the corridors.
