Patients at Rotunda forced to stay in hotel rooms

Pregnant women attending Dublin's Rotunda Hospital are being forced to stay in hotel rooms because of a shortage of beds on the wards, it emerged today.

Three rooms at Jury's Inn have been booked for Rotunda patients, as part of what the HSE described as "innovative short-term initiatives".

Staff shortages have also been causing problems at the three main maternity hospitals, but the HSE said a range of measures had been put in place to deal with the situation.