Emergency medicine consultants have criticised some hospital managers who, it claims, believe overcrowded emergency departments are 'safe'.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) highlighted comments made by Tallaght Hospital CEO, David Slevin, last week about the current overcrowding at that hospital.

"The comments last week of Tallaght Hospital CEO, David Slevin, on RTE News in which he claimed that the situation was 'safe' notwithstanding the high level of ED overcrowding in Tallaght was hugely disappointing," the IAEM said.

"It confirms, yet again, that many of those who make strategic decisions within the health service lack understanding of the risks to patients that ED overcrowding causes," the Association added.

It said while the recent focus had been on Tallaght Hospital, the reality was that for many EDs around the country, ongoing overcrowding with admitted inpatients was a daily occurrence.

According to the IAEM, there was very little evidence that the proven increased risks of patients dying or having poorer medical outcomes as a direct consequence of ED overcrowding had motivated administrators and managers to take the matter as seriously as they should.

"Instead of resolving the problem there have been a succession of self-congratulatory statements pointing to 'improvements' in the extent of ED overcrowding, even though the current position is both unsafe and unacceptable", it said.

The IAEM claimed certain managers within the health system seemed to regard overcrowded EDs as 'safe' and this was a cause for concern.

It called for the recommendations of the 2012 HIQA report on ED safety at Tallaght and other EDs must be implemented immediately.