The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation say safe staffing levels are not being observed in hospitals due to the Government's recruitment embargo.
The union says their members are overworked in overcrowded conditions and this is a dangerous combination.
Cork University Hospital has the second-lowest level of staff per patient bed of any hospital in the State.
Speaking to RedFM News, Colm Porter of the INMO in Cork says the Government's own safe staffing framework isn't being implemented in any hospital in the country
"The rollout of this has been paused in CUH and in all hospitals across the country, essentially. So I suppose the conclusion you can reach from that, as a result of, you know the derogation policy from the government, is that you know that there currently aren't safe staffing levels, anywhere in in Cork or elsewhere".