Doctors working in the country's Emergency Departments (EDs) are warning of a ‘staffing meltdown' in the coming weeks.

According to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM), over the past five years, it has become ‘increasingly difficult' to staff the country's 30 EDs. However, this problem is now ‘worse than ever' as a result of the changeover of non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs), which is due to take place next month.

July 14 marks the day when NCHDs (junior doctors) will be rotated between posts as part of their training. In recent years, these rotations have led to serious staff shortages in some hospitals, due to shortfalls in recruitment and the fact that many Irish doctors are now choosing to work abroad.

The IAEM has said that while some EDs have so far avoided major difficulties with recruitment, ‘few if any EDs will not be short of their normal complement of junior staff come mid July'.

"While the Department of Health and the HSE acknowledge that there are some ‘challenges' with recruitment, they seem to fail to appreciate the extent of the problem and its likely implications for patients," the IAEM commented.

It pointed out that if there are gaps in the roster, this will inevitably lead to more delays in the treatment of patients.

"This places patients at increased risk of avoidable poor outcomes and will also heap further pressure upon the remaining medical and nursing staff in EDs," it said.

It pointed out that many Irish graduates are now training and working abroad, especially in Australia, ‘in preference to working in overcrowded and poorly staffed EDs in Ireland'.

"If this potentially lost generation of medical graduates is to be attracted back to Ireland, then the underlying problems of poor levels of staffing, comparably poor terms and conditions of employment, inadequate numbers of consultants, poor infrastructure and persistent ED overcrowding need to be rapidly addressed," the association insisted.

It added that in the meantime, ‘urgent steps' need to be take to more effectively recruit doctors from around the world. This includes shortening the time it takes to process applications for registration for eligible doctors from outside of the EU.