The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has described conditions at Mercy University Hospital as intolerable and unsafe.
This comes as 35 patients are without a bed in the hospital and a significant ambulance waiting time outside the hospital.
INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Liam Conway said:
Significant overcrowding in Mercy University Hospital has led to a dangerous environment for staff and their patients. Our members are describing conditions inside the hospital itself as unsafe and intolerable, this is coupled with a significant ambulance wait time outside of the hospital itself.
Since the beginning of October, over 379 patients have been on trolleys in the Mercy. This is unsustainable for our members. We know that there is a serious problem across all hospitals in Cork City. when it comes to the discharging of patients back into the community. This requires urgent political intervention in the days and weeks ahead.
It is vital to ensure that action is taken to protect both our members and their patients. The environment they find themselves in is making it impossible to provide safe and timely care. The volume of trolleys in the emergency department is leading to concerns around infection control and fire safety.
Urgent interventions are now required from the South/Southwest Hospital Group by way of implementing a full escalation protocol. Hospital management must now curtail all non-urgent elective care. Additional bed capacity must be sourced in the community and from the private sector in order to alleviate serious pressure in the hospital.