Irish Nurses and Midwives are facing a "nightmare before Christmas" as overcrowding issues loom with over 500 patients awaiting trolleys.
Earlier this week the INMO's Trolley Watch recorded the highest number since the pandemic began, with 534 patients on trolleys.
With the impending Omicron wave of Covid-19 threatening to overwhelm ICU, it's been suggested that private hospitals pick up the slack.
Phil Ni Sheaghdha the general secretary of the INMO says it's difficult to get support when its needed:
"I was speaking with one of our frontline ICU managers who had to ring a number of private hospitals during Thursday and Friday to seek assistance and she was refused. They said no, and they have an admission criteria, those particular hospitals we raised that with the HSE will be raising it again with them tomorrow. Because right now when we say we can invoke distance from the private hospitals, I think we have to dig a bit deeper. and say what what exactly does that mean."
