Patients who have to wait on trolleys have a higher chance of their condition deteriorating.
That's according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation who are calling for urgent action to be taken on the trolley crisis at Cork University Hospital.
This week, the union revealed that the ED at CUH has been identified as the second worst hit hospital in the country for overcrowding.
53 people are being treated on trolleys at the hospital today and the INMO says behind the daily trolley figures are vulnerable patients trapped in undignified and unsafe conditions.
The union says nurses are working incredibly hard to provide safe patient care for people in a very challenging environment.
Speaking to RedFM News, Colm Porter of the INMO in Cork says it's simply not safe for patients to be treated on trolleys at ED's across the county:
"There is all the research that suggests that the longer a patient is waiting on a trolley, the higher the chances of some kind of adverse outcome. The thing is, I would reiterate that all members, nurses and midwives they are really working as hard as they can to provide, safe patient care for for people patients need to get the right care within the acute setting or in the community. It's absolutely not safe if patients are being treated on on trolleys in EDS across the country."
