The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is calling for all planned admissions to Tallaght Hospital to be halted in order to deal with an overcrowding crisis that has raised serious concerns about patient safety.

The nurses union, in a letter sent today to hospital management, has called for admissions for planned, non-emergency operations and procedures at the hospital to cease until further notice, so that the overcrowding crisis can be dealt with.

Management met with senior staff at the hospital this morning to discuss the severe pressure currently being experienced on emergency services and bed availability. The hospital is suffering from a severe shortage of nursing staff, which the INMO says is affecting patient care.

With fears being expressed by staff over patient safety, the hospital says it is drawing up a response plan to the crisis, but as yet no specific measures to be undertaken to deal with the crisis have been confirmed.

An INMO spokesman told irishhealth.com that in a letter to hospital management today, it stressed that due to severe pressure on services and staff shortages, a number of areas of the hospital are unsafe.

These areas include coronary care, theatres and the emergency department.

The spokesman said that due to staff shortages, in some cases critically-ill patients have to be looked after by nurses not trained in critical care.

The union wants all planned admissions to be halted to relieve the unprecedented pressure on the hospital, which some staff have described as the worst they have ever seen.

According to the INMO, there were 19 patients placed on trolleys in wards at the hospital today as well a further 17 on trolleys in the emergency department.

The union is due to meet with hospital management on Friday to discuss the overcrowding crisis.

A Tallaght spokesperson told irishhealth.com that the hospital was now implementing a response plan to deal with the current pressures on the emergency department from seasonally high admittances and attendances.

"Significant engagement is taking place with the medical and surgical staff in implementing the plan to address the current levels and maintain patient safety."

The INMO last week said it was 'gravely concerned' about standards and quality of care in Tallaght, claiming that 'dangerous levels' of overcrowding persisted throughout the hospital.

The hospital, however, at the time denied this and said its emergency department was safe and quality and care standards were constantly monitored to ensure the safety of all patients.

The nurses' union said the hospital's emergency department was seriously overcrowded for continuous periods and the overcrowding was not confined to the emergency department, as extra trolleys were now being placed inappropriately on wards and in ward corridors.

The INMO last week called on the board of Tallaght Hospital to prioritise patient care over all other matters.

Tallaght, like other hospitals around the country, is facing further cuts to its budget this year.