Frontline workers at Dublin's Connolly Hospital held a protest on Monday over working conditions.
Staff have said they are overworked, understaffed and losing sleep.
“You go to change in the evening, and you find staff in tears in the changing room just exhausted, absoloutly exhausted,” one frontline worker told Newstalk.
“Its really busy, our numbers have gone up and up, people are coming in really sick,” she added.
Nurses’ union INMO said it had engaged with hospital management to find a resolution to this ongoing issue but was not satisfied with the response to the safety concerns raised.
The union has said there are 70 vacancies at the moment, with other vacancies that have been filled not expecting to see nurses on the wards for some weeks.
Increased workload
Maurice Sheehan, industrial relations officer at INMO, said: “Our members have been through a very challenging time and are heading into winter with an increased workload, and Covid still circulating.
“Hospital management need to act urgently to keep staff and patients safe. Otherwise, services at the hospital will need to be scaled back to ensure safety for all.
“From the outset of the pandemic, management at Connolly Hospital chose to curtail some of their least essential services, they need to do so again.
“Today’s protest sends a clear message to hospital management that staff are not willing to continue providing care in a manner where the health and safety of patients and staff is at risk.”
