That's the warning from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation who say 50 patients are without a bed at Cork University Hospital today.
The nursing union says staff and patients are at an increased risk of infection and are calling for immediate measures to fulfil a pledge they say the HSE made in May to tackle overcrowding at health and social care facilities.
They're calling for additional home care packages, higher staffed bed capacity and expansion of step down facility capacity.
Speaking to RedFM News. Liam Conway from the INMO in Cork says the union have been calling for a winter plan for months:
