Sinn Fein is calling on the Minister for Health to buy up private hospital accommodation if necessary to prevent chaotic waiting lists in the coming weeks.
760 patients were left waiting for a bed in hospitals around the Country yesterday.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said last night that the current situation is back to pre-pandemic levels.
Sinn Fein Health spokesperson David Cullinane says if the Minister is serious about addressing the problem, he would purchase beds in the private sector.
"The Minister needs to do everything possible to maximise capacity for public patients. And if that means utilising the private healthcare sector over the next number of months that should be done.
"I warned against this last year when the minister presented his budget for 2022., and I said that the time to plan for this winter was last year's budget. And in last year's budget, there wasn't one single additional bed funded beyond previous commitments."
