Overworked nursing staff in overcrowded hospitals is a dangerous combination.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is leading a call for frontline patient-facing staff to be exempt from the HSE recruitment moratorium.
The emergency department at Cork University Hospital was operating at 300% capacity in January and flu and Covid levels are only adding to the pressure on the department.
Speaking to RedFM News Colm Porter of the INMO in Cork says the working environment for nurses is impacting their ability to provide safe care to patients:
"Nurses and midwives, they are they're extremely concerned about the embargo across the health system in Cork. The HSE, they need to stop treating this as an accounting exercise and recognise the impact that it's having on patient safety and patient care."
