Neither the HSE nor the Department of Health have done anything of “substance” to deal with hospital overcrowding, which has reached a record high, with 677 people on trolleys, according to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine.

Three hundred and fifty people will die needlessly in hospital emergency departments next year unless Health Minister Simon Harris definitively addresses the trolley count crisis in next week’s budget.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine has warned that patients are dying needlessly - because of the state of the health sector.

Two in five patients who suffered severe head injuries in 2014 and 2015 were not treated at neurological centres, despite clear evidence of much better outcomes for patients when this is the case.

The Government has systematically failed to address underlying problems leading to the overcrowding crisis at emergency departments, says the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM).

A €40m plan to deal with the anticipated surge in hospital activities over the winter has been described as a “drop in the ocean” by doctors at a time when operations are already being cancelled and daily trolley figures frequently exceed 400.

Doctors in emergency medicine have welcomed a new children’s triage system that will be in use in all emergency departments by the end of the year.

Nurses may take industrial action later this month to highlight continuing overcrowding in emergency departments.

Emergency doctors say patients left languishing on hospital trolleys have suffered an infringement of their human rights and have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.

The HSE is only acting now to ensure that complex surgery no longer takes place at the Midland Regional Hospital, despite saying years ago that surgical services at the hospital should cease, it has emerged.

LEO Varadkar is ashamed, and well he might be. On Thursday, following the publication of a report into the deaths of five babies at Portlaoise hospital, the health minister proclaimed himself ashamed of the treatment of patients there.

A major acute hospital that had the highest number of patients on trolleys yesterday in its emergency department has been described by nurses as being “dangerously overcrowded”.

As trolley figures remain high, hospital consultants have questioned whether draft plans to tackle emergency department (ED) overcrowding are workable in what they call an absence of a commitment to adequate resources.

Hospitals risk seeing the “most vulnerable” people in society being “picked off” through needless flu-linked deaths unless they take urgent action to address the emergency department overcrowding crisis.

The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine has said more home care and community services are needed to reduce the pressure in hospital wards.

A widespread nurses’ strike across the country’s major accident and emergency departments is increasingly likely following a decision to extend a ballot for industrial action to hospitals plagued by emergency department overcrowding.

Doctors working in emergency medicine have rejected claims that they are sending patients home who should be in hospital.

Serious safety concerns about hospitals being able to manage ebola infection risks have been raised by the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine.

Overcrowding in hospital emergency departments (ED) is a major concern for doctors making plans to deal with suspected ebola cases.

Doctors working in emergency departments have warned of reduced opening hours and longer waiting times for patients amid fears of a 50% shortfall in junior doctor numbers next July.

Consultants working in Emergency Departments in Irish hospitals have said that recent media reports highlighting inadequate facilities for child patients are accurate.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) praised the Health Information and Quality Authority on the thoroughness of its investigation.

A 700% rise in the number of sick children left lingering in paediatric emergency departments has been recorded by senior medics.

Hospitals are paying agencies €100 an hour for locums to plug the gaps in emergency departments (EDs) when the shortfall could be substantially addressed by creating a new grade of staff doctor.

The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) is calling on the Government to introduce a ban on looped-cord blinds.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has expressed grave concerns over the HSE decision to freeze recruitment at all levels.

EVEN longer waiting times in hospital emergency departments are inevitable from next month, the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has warned.

A group of doctors is today predicting that delays in Accident and Emergency departments at Irish hospitals will get worse next month.

THERE is “the very real danger” that the imminent drop in emergency department staff levels will leave hospitals unable to ensure the safety of patients from July, doctors have warned.

HEALTH chiefs confirmed 26 patients are being treated in intensive care units for flu.

Health chiefs confirmed 26 patients were tonight being treated in intensive care units for flu.

Record numbers of sick people on trolleys and chairs in A&E will lead to an increase in deaths, senior emergency medics warned today.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) is urging people to avoid going outside this weekend, where possible, as the country faces yet another day of freezing temperatures.

HOSPITAL emergency departments are struggling to cope with serious staff shortages, resulting in some shifts being left uncovered and causing havoc to existing quality and safety standards.

EMERGENCY medicine consultants have rejected a claim made by Health Minister Mary Harney that overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) had improved and was only confined to a limited number of hospitals.

PLANS to close or limit accident and emergency departments across the country are being considered by the Health Service Executive.

DOCTORS have claimed vital emergency department units & are being over- stretched because of “woefully inadequate” staff and low locum cover.

EMERGENCY doctors have backed calls for the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide 24-hour social work cover, claiming they are being used as a catch-all for social problems that should be handled elsewhere.

Seven hospital emergency departments remain unfit for purpose one year after an official report exposed unacceptable conditions in the critical units, medics claimed today.

PATIENTS are continuing to suffer and die because of continued overcrowding in hospital emergency departments (EDs) — two years after Health Minister Mary Harney described the situation as a “national emergency”.

Doctors attached to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine are disputing claims made by the Health Service Executive in relation to A&E waiting numbers.

EMERGENCY medicine consultants should not be charging private fees to patients attending accident and emergency departments in public hospitals, Health Minister Mary Harney insisted yesterday.