Nurses in the Emergency Department of Galway University Hospital have signalled their intention to go on strike as a result of conditions at the facility.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said today that its members were "gravely concerned" about the safety of their patients, adding that many were bring deprived of their dignity by being forced to wait on trolleys for several nights.
A spokesperson for the union said that while GUH is the flagship hospital for Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal with a population of 700,000 people, the Emergency Department is "simply too small to deal with such a large geographical region".
The nurses will now hold a lunchtime protest on Wednesday September 17th from 1pm to 2pm.
"The dignity of patients is being compromised with care being provided on corridors and in crowded areas, sometimes involving end of life care. The nurses in the department are committed to continuing to treat all patients with dignity and respect. However, this endeavour is being compromised by the excessive overcrowding, lack of space, lack of vacant beds and poor staffing levels," it added.
They added that staff were "gravely concerned for the wellbeing of patients who have to suffer the indignity of being nursed on a corridor for days at a time" and that the levels of overcrowding and staff shortages were "impinging on their ability to provide safe quality care to patients".
"This overcrowding in the month of September is unprecedented and can only get worse as we enter the winter months. This is further compounded by hospital plans to temporarily close beds for refurbishment and building construction," said INMO Industrial Relations Officer Clare Treacy.
"The staff in the Emergency Department, and the INMO, acknowledge the huge effort that nurse management has made in dealing with the situation on a daily basis. However, the crisis is now so grave that nurses in the department want a clear plan of action and political intervention to address the problem."
