Doctors predict increase in Accident and Emergency delays nationwide
A group of doctors is today predicting that delays in Accident and Emergency departments at Irish hospitals will get worse next month.
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) stated that many departments have had difficulty filling posts for the past 18 months, and when the staff changeover date of July 11 arrives, the situation will be "substantially worse".
The IAEM's expressed concern that prolonged waiting times in A&E will lead to delayed treatment and potential avoidable harm.
It has issued an urgent call for the HSE to adopt immediate rigorous contingency planning to minimise the disruption to national emergency department (ED) services caused by the staffing shortage.
