'Hundreds of nurses need to be recruited' says Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin has said there is a need for hundreds of nurses to be recruited to deal with overcrowding in hospital Emergency Departments.
Yesterday, the Health Minister Leo Varadkar signed a directive requiring hospitals to take steps if a patient is left on a trolley for more than nine hours, the recommended maximum waiting time.
Sinn Féin is this weekend is holding demonstrations around the country to highlight what they are calling the trolley crisis in hospitals.
The campaign of action is taking place in towns, as well as outside hospitals in Dublin, Limerick, Kilkenny and Galway.
Sinn Féin's Health Spokesperson Caoimhghin O Caolain, has said more nurses are needed, to replace the 2,000 that have been taken from hospital wards in recent years: “When you look at the situation that even over the lifetime of this Government we have had a reduction of 2,000 nurses, that is absolutely outrageous.
“While the Minister will say; ‘We have recruited x number of hundred over the past year’ at the end of the day we are down a significant number of nursing staff and indeed other critical staff throughout the health service."
