Nurses working in hospitals nationwide are “at the end of their tether” and they can no longer provide the care to patients that is required, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has warned.

According to the organisation, it has no other option but to discuss industrial action with its members in emergency departments as a result of persistent overcrowding, which its insists, is not being taken seriously by the HSE.

“Our nurses are at the end of their tether and they cannot provide the clinical care that is required. They are burnt out both physically and mentally and cannot continue at this pace. The slow reaction and at times hands-off approach from their employer will drive many nurses out of the profession,” commented INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha.

She pointed out that on June 13, there were 457 patients waiting on trolleys for a hospital bed, with 101 of these in one hospital alone – University Hospital Limerick.

“The number of patients without a bed in Irish hospitals is completely unacceptable. For there to be 457 patients without a bed on a single day in the middle of June is not something we should accept as a given. The response thus far from the HSE and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has been extremely lacking,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha insisted.

She pointed out that the INMO has requested that the Emergency Department Taskforce meet as a matter of urgency three times and the response from the HSE has been inadequate. She said that the fact that this important body has not met despite the huge pressure EDs are under “is completely inexcusable”.

“The HSA must act on the unsafe conditions our members are working in and patients are presenting to. We know that in some hospitals, such as University Hospital Limerick, fire safety reports are not being adhered to. The dignity of patients is often diminished because of the conditions they are being treated in.

“EDs are pressure cooker environments leading to the physical and verbal assault of our members in some instances. The HSE has a duty to provide a safe environment for employees and patients and this just is not being adhered to in the vast majority of hospitals,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha noted.

She said that the INMO is of the view that the emergency department agreement brokered between this union and the HSE is being “ignored by the employer leaving nurses exposed to unsafe and high-risk situations”.

“We have referred this issue back to the Workplace Relations Commission and a date is awaited. At this juncture, without real focus and input, we will have no other option but to discuss industrial action with our members in emergency departments,” she added.