The overcrowding in accident and emergency (A&E) departments poses a serious risk to the safety of patients, the body representing hospital consultants has said.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) said the Health & Safety Authority has a major role to play in addressing this matter under Section 7 of the Safety, Health & Welfare Act 1987.
In a statement, the IHCA called on the authority to inspect all A&E departments that report overcrowding with patients awaiting admission to hospital being accommodated on trolleys.
Irish Hospital Consultants' Association
"Where necessary the inspectors must issue the appropriate notices permitted under the legislation," the body said.
"The annual winter bed crisis is an entirely predictable phenomenon. It is inexcusable that the Department of Health & Children and its agencies have not taken adequate remedial measures to date.
"Instead they have allowed the situation to deteriorate further with up to 400 patients requiring acute care being left to wait for a bed on hospital trolleys," the statement said.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, said A&E services should see a measurable improvement by the autumn, according to reports this evening.
Ms Harney said she would not try to justify the recent record levels of patients on trolleys but added that it would take time for her 10-point plan for A&E departments to come into effect.
The number of people waiting on trolleys in A&E departments peaked at 422 on one day last week.
Figures released by the Irish Nurses' Organisation this afternoon show there are currently 254 patients on trolleys.
The highest number of patients on trolleys is in Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, where there were 42 people waiting today, according to the INO. In Beaumont Hospital, there were 24 people on trolleys, while there were 30 in St Vincent's. James Connolly Memorial Hospital and Naas had 15 and 16 people on trolleys, respectively.
In both Wexford and Portiuncula there were nine people waiting and there were 10 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.