Every hospital in the State has been urged to check its back-up power supply after a generator at Wexford General Hospital failed to work after a power cut.
The hospital lost power around 8.30pm on Tuesday in stormy weather conditions. And while a back-up generator should normally take over in such situations, this did not happen.
As a result no equipment could be used and six patients, one on a ventilator and two who were pregnant, had to be transferred to Waterford Regional Hospital.
Hospital manager Theresa Hanrahan said a fault on "high tension switch gear" was the problem. While she suggested the ESB maintained this "gear", the ESB has denied this.
Power was restored to the hospital after about four hours and in the intervening period battery-powered lighting was provided.
Wexford TD and Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey claimed the life of a mother and her newborn baby could have been threatened had one of two women waiting for Caesarean sections been in the operating theatre during the power failure. "The swift action by management and staff in dealing with this crisis saved lives but the situation which unfolded is a matter for extreme concern. A third world service in our healthcare system is unacceptable," he said.
"It is vital that every hospital in the country checks its back-up power capacity immediately in case a similar situation were to occur in another hospital in the State," he added.
Brendan Howlin, a Labour TD for Wexford, said it was miraculous the power cut did not have tragic consequences. He also said a review of hospital back-up facilities should happen immediately.
The HSE South East Area said hospital management would be meeting the ESB to examine what had happened and ensure it did not happen again.
Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses Organisation said there were 253 patients on trolleys in hospital A&E units across the State yesterday, including 12 at Wexford General Hospital.