Staff at Letterkenny General Hospital say there is gridlock in the hospital this morning.
Letterkenny General Hospital
There are a number of patients in corridors and the accident and emergency department is also overcrowded.
The new 18 bed Medical 5 Ward, due to open three weeks ago, is still not functioning.
Management has blamed a lack of staff for not being able to open the facility.
However hospital staff claim nurses are refusing to work in the unit because they are being offered only a 20 hour week run over three month contracts.
A staff member, who has 20 years service in the hospital, said she has never seen it as bad.
“It’s simply gridlock and it’s this way every Monday and Tuesday. A major pattern is building up and nothing is being done about it.
“These are dangerous working conditions and the staff are at the frontline in dealing with patients.
“Management need to do something about this before the hospital falls to its knees. This is no way to run a hospital,” she said.
And not for the first time Letterkenny General Hospital is the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland today.
The latest figures from Irish Nurse and midwives Organisation) shows there are currently 31 people on trolleys – and a further 20 people are on trolleys while a further 11 are ‘in wards’.
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