The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has claimed that giving better pay to emergency department nurses will easer the current overcrowding crisis.
Mr Varadkar’s comments come after recent talks between Irish Nurses and Midwife Organisation and management at the HSE broke down last night, which means a scheduled strike for next Wednesday the 16th December will go ahead as planned. However the Health Minister believes that better paid nurses will not ease the crisis in Irish hospitals.
Mr Varadkar said: “Emergency departments do go off call quite regularly, it’s not something that only happens during a strike period,” said Varadkar. “So, ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals. “I think it’s important to say that more nurses and better paid nurses in emergency departments aren’t going to solve overcrowding. There is no patient this morning on a trolley who’s waiting to see an emergency department nurse.
He added: “Patients are on trolleys because they are waiting for a bed up the wards or they are waiting to be discharged home.”