NEW admission lounges for patients waiting for a hospital bed will not see the light of day unless additional in-patient nurses are appointed, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) warned yesterday.

The Irish Medical Organisation claims GPs could be the answer to the A&E crisis in this country.

Nursing staff at Cork University Hospital will meet management today in a bid to resolve the A&E crisis which saw more than 30 people waiting for beds on trolleys over the weekend.

A heart patient was forced to wait for treatment on a chair in a storeroom at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, TD Joe Costello claimed today as he continued his weekly protest over the A&E crisis.

Hundreds of patients are still being forced to wait on trolleys in Ireland's accident and emergency departments, according to figures published by the Irish Nurses Organisation today.

The ongoing problem of overcrowding in accident and emergency departments is expected to dominate the annual conference of the Irish Nurses Organisation, which gets underway in Killarney, Co Kerry, today.

The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association has joined the Irish Nurses Organisation in condemning the Taoiseach's attempts to play down the A&E crisis.

NURSES are demanding that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern declare that the accident and emergency (A&E) crisis is a national emergency.

Nurses are due to mount half-hour lunchtime protests at hospitals in Cavan, Mayo and Tallaght today as part of a campaign to highlight the ongoing crisis in accident and emergency departments.

LESS than one third of adults have faith in Mary Harney sorting out the hospital accident and emergency crisis.

MORE consultants are to be brought into hospitals shortly on a pilot basis, Health Minister Micheál Martin confirmed yesterday.

The Labour Party has attacked Health Minister Micheal Martin over his failure to deal with the crisis in accident and emergency departments.

Nurses have voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of strike action at accident and emergency departments in hospitals across the country.