Dr. Peadar Gilligan:

Absolutely. The safety implications of having fatigued doctors are well recognised and published. The safety implications concerning the lack of capacity and crowding in the system are definitely well described in the literature. For example, we know that a patient attending with a heart attack or stroke will have his or her treatment delayed. Patients attending with a severe infection will have treatment delayed, as will patients suffering from polytrauma, if there is no available trolley. There are all too many cases in the country of patients arriving at emergency departments where there is no available space. In the hospital in which I work, I frequently have to move out of our critical care area patients who are not yet ready to be moved out, just because of the pressure on that area. There are definitely safety implications for patients nationally as a result of the lack of capacity.

We need to see a roadmap concerning the 5,000 additional beds the system needs. We need a commitment that is evident to all and addressed in a timely manner. God knows - we have been saying this for long enough - that the patients of Ireland have suffered for long enough, and the doctors, nursing staff and all the allied health professionals who are trying to provide services in very crowded circumstances have put up with it for long enough. Therefore, we need the capacity to improve the safety of patient care.