Nurses at Naas General Hospital in Co Kildare staged a one-hour work stoppage in protest at overcrowded conditions in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit this afternoon.
About a dozen nurses placed an information picket at the hospital between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to increase public awareness about the lack of facilities at the A&E unit.
The unit is operating out of pre-fabs as a temporary measure while the new £80 million Naas General Hospital is being built. The new hospital is due to open next year.
The nurses are calling for a commitment from the Health Board to provide more beds in the casualty department at the new hospital and for more step-down beds in the community for long-stay patients.
According to the INO about 51 people pass through the A&E unit daily yet only six beds are available so patients wait for treatment on trolleys. It said at times there is no room for nurses to work as the pre-fabs were crowded with patients and relatives.
"These conditions severely restrict the level of professional nursing care that can be provided to patients," the INO said.
To relieve the situation hospital security has been asked to limit the number of relatives allowed into the unit and asked the public only to visit the A&E unit in emergencies.
"From a health and safety perspective the situation cannot continue," said the INO, as there are obvious hazards for staff and dangers for patients in these desperately overcrowded conditions.
The South Western Area Health Board in a statement today said it recognised the difficulties with over-crowding and appealed for "understanding and co-operation" until the new hospital has been completed.
The health board said it is working as fast as is "humanly possible" to provide the best services for the public and the best working conditions for staff.
But the INO is concerned that when the new hospital is completed an extra 37 beds will not be enough and want a commitment from the health board for more beds.