The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says Beaumont Hospital should go off call immediately, due to severe overcrowding in the Emergency Department.

This afternoon there were 92 patients in the Emergency Department, with 38 waiting on trolleys and chairs for a bed.

The INMO says the hospital must go off call for an extended period as very few beds are expected to become available, meaning the situation is set to get worse.

The organisation claims it's unsafe but nothing is being done to address it - and patients are being put at serious risk.

Speaking this afternoon, INMO industrial relations officer Lorraine Monaghan said:

“This situation is unsafe yet nothing is being done to address it. Patients are at serious risk and staff are at breaking point”.

The INMO say they wrote to HIQA seeking an urgent inspection regarding the problem fo overcrowding at Beaumont, but were told that, while HIQA are aware of the risks at the hospital, they do not have the resources to carry out an inspection.

“This is an appalling situation where the national health watchdog cannot carry out its basic function,” Monaghan said.