There are insufficient numbers of doctors in the department of medicine at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda to ensure patients are not put at risk, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) has found.
Following an inspection of the department of medicine late last year it indicated to hospital management that doctors both at consultant and junior doctor level in the unit were overworked.
The RCPI expressed concern in particular at the fact that junior doctors in the department did not have time to receive training as a result.
In a letter to the manager of the Health Service Executive's northeast hospital network following the inspection, the hospital said that the RCPI had concerns about "clinical risk directly related to this workload and lack of appropriate resources".
The letter stated that staff in the department were highly committed but seriously under-resourced.
The college called for "immediate remedial action to address the urgent deficits", the Drogheda hospital added in its letter, which has been seen by The Irish Times.
Furthermore it said an additional five consultants should be appointed, as well as significant numbers of extra junior doctors.
Unless action was taken the college indicated it would not continue to recognise the department for the training of all junior doctors from July 1st next, the college said.
The department of medicine deals with patients with a wide range of conditions such as heart attacks, chest conditions strokes, pneumonia and diabetes.
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland said the demand on the service at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital equated to major Dublin hospitals such as St James's Hospital, the largest hospital in the State, and its staffing was insufficient to meet this workload.
The inspection took place in October and a follow up visit is expected next month to see if a plan has been put in place by hospital management and the HSE to address the issues raised.
Asked to comment on the RCPI's findings, a spokeswoman for the HSE in the northeast said yesterday that the health executive was in constant informal discussions with the college regarding how best to address the issues raised.
"And we are working on a number of proposals to address these issues," she said.
The workload of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has increased significantly in recent years since problems in other hospitals in the region resulted in patients being diverted to the Drogheda hospital.
However the staff claims it has not been given the required additional resources including extra beds to cope with the demands on it.
There are still often large numbers of patients on trolleys in the hospital's accident and emergency department.