Conditions in the country's emergency departments are more akin to World War trenches, according to Mayo T.D., Lisa Chambers.
Describing the conditions as an affront to human dignity, she said it is beyond belief that patients, their families, and hospital staff should have to endure conditions which had now become a permanent feature of hospital A and E departments.
Said Deputy Chambers "The current situation reveals a total lack of dignity for patients, and a total lack of respect for the nursing and medical staff who are expected to work under such appalling conditions
"Surely it is in breach of all health and safety guidelines that people are expected to work and deliver their expertise in such inhumane conditions", she said.
"It is no surprise that the levels of stress and burnout are so high, when highly trained professionals are required to operate in such intolerable situations".
Deputy Chambers said that Minister Harris should hang his head that he reneged so shamefully on his promises to extend the emergency department at Mayo University Hospital.
She paid tribute to the hospital staff who, she said, tried to provide comfort and reassurance to patients on trolleys and in corridors, in addition to caring for their medical treatment.
