Gardaí have launched an investigation after an 87-year-old woman was allegedly the victim of an attempted sexual assault at a Tipperary hospital.

Bloodstains on a machine in South Tipperary General Hospital’s intensive care unit and red stains on a mattress and pillow were discovered during an audit of the hospital’s three units.

The HSE is conducting an external review into the care of a woman who claims she was wrongly diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and given a drug to halt the development of the foetus.

A patient recovering from a brain haemorrhage who had to spend hours on a hospital trolley in a vending machine corridor has called on the Taoiseach and minister for health to visit the overcrowded emergency department.

A LONG-AWAITED healthcare project with its roots in 1996 was finalised yesterday by Health Minister Mary Harney when she officially opened the amalgamated hospital services in Clonmel.

Contingency plans were being finalised in hospitals tonight as scores of nurses in Dublin and Tipperary prepare to stage a series of hour-long work stoppages.