Professor Conor Deasy was speaking as staff at the Emergency Department at Cork University Hospital deal with record overcrowding today.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have described the situation as "very dangerous", while CUH management are asking people to explore all available options before turning up at the ED.
84 patients are currently waiting for a bed at the hospital, according to the latest TrolleyWatch figures- it's the highest number at the hospital since the INMO started tracking overcrowding in 2006.
Speaking to RedFM News, Emergency Medicine consultant at CUH Professor Conor Deasy outlines the current situation:
"It's the worst I've seen it and I've seen it in all sorts of states. And this is the worst I've ever witnessed. We have 80 patients in the Emergency Department in the acute floor area awaiting an inpatient bed today. Some of them are day three waiting for an inpatient bed. We've had real difficulties offloading ambulances, we've had patients on ambulances awaiting offload for up on 10 hours. We have had extreme difficulty finding space to treat even the sickest of patients. What I'm saying to people is that Emergency Department is extremely busy; if you can find an alternative place to have your medical care needs dealt with, please consider that."
