INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the system has “learned no lessons” from two decades of flu-related overcrowding, adding that trolley numbers jumped by 22% in the past 24 hours.
Kildare is once again feeling the strain of winter hospital pressures, with 23 patients left without a bed in Naas General Hospital today - part of a nationwide total of 616 people on trolleys.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says the figures show the HSE has "failed" to plan for flu season.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the system has “learned no lessons” from two decades of flu-related overcrowding, adding that trolley numbers jumped by 22% in the past 24 hours.
She said hospitals are now placing trolleys close together in poorly ventilated wards while respiratory infections are circulating - a practice she described as deeply unsafe for both patients and staff.
Overcrowding, she said, is now countrywide, not confined to a small number of acute sites.
The INMO is calling for “extraordinary action” from the HSE and all healthcare employers, warning that nurses and midwives cannot provide safe care - or protect themselves - in the conditions currently facing hospitals.
Yesterday, the HSE said there has been an an earlier start to flu season this year.
It says cases are on the rise in communities with 418 reported last week, compared to 213 the week before.
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