‘Safer’ to move patients on trolleys from A&E to wards

PATIENT safety is compromised when too many patients are kept on trolleys in emergency departments according to a consultant in emergency medicine at the Midwest Regional Hospital in Limerick.

Dr Cathal O’Donnell was reacting to the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) decision to ballot members for strike action in protest at a Health Service Executive (HSE) directive to move patients on trolleys out of the ED onto in-patient wards. The directive was issued to reduce overcrowding.

Nurses claim the decision to place additional patients on wards increases their workload without increasing the staff complement, leading to delays in discharging and access to beds for patients.