The Cork branch of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are calling for an immediate review of security at Cork hospitals.
It follows the release of figures by TD Neal Richmond which show there were 33,000 assaults on nurses since 2015.
Figures from the HSE's National Incident Management Scheme show nurses made up 48% of the 8,667 physical, verbal and sexual assaults reported by HSE staff last year.
The INMO say they are deeply concerned about the figure and are calling for a full audit of security protocols.
Speaking to RedFM News, Liam Conway from the INMO in Cork says hospital overcrowding is making matters worse for staff.
"It creates a pressure cooker type environment. Unfortunately with that frustration, it can run high and a tiny of minority have attacked staff.
"This means that front line staff are being put at risk for the conditions that they are not responsible for.
"Workers are going into this workplace which is already over crowded, and while there's frustration with the system it is completely unacceptable for members of the public to take out their frustration on the staff that are not responsible for that environment."
