Varadkar: Strike wont get a single patient off a trolley

Industrial action will not get a single patient off a trolley, said Health Minister Leo Varadkar yesterday.

Nurses are preparing for emergency department strikes next week after talks on overcrowding with the HSE on Wednesday night collapsed.

Mr Varadkar said that action to reduce the number of patients on trolleys was showing results, but acknowledged that the working conditions in many emergency departments were poor.