Doctors hit out at continuing A&E crisis

The Government must make real progress on tackling the crisis in the A&E hospital service as it has slumped to a 15-year low, doctors warned today.

Dr Asam Ishtiaq, president of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), said proper funding and resources continue to be denied to the health service during a time of economic boom.

Dr Ishtiaq said: "I have never seen morale so low and the situation so bad in the past 15 years of my service. It is an impossible task to get patients to hospital beds directly for timely and planned care.

"Politicians, whose heads are stuck in the sand, blame everyone else but themselves when there is a crisis."

The IMO insisted the lack of reform in the health services by the Government was undoubtedly due to the failure to provide an adequate number of beds in hospitals.