James Cox
Sinn Féin is calling on the Minister for Health to buy up private hospital accommodation if necessary to prevent "chaotic" waiting lists in the coming weeks.
A total of 760 patients were left waiting for a bed in hospitals around the country on Monday.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said last night that the current situation is back to pre-pandemic levels.
Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane said if Stephen Donnelly is serious about addressing the problem, he would purchase beds in the private sector.
Consultants
Mr Cullinane told Newstalk: "The Minister needs to do everything possible to maximise capacity for public patients, and if that means utilising the private healthcare sector over the next number of months, that should be done.
"But I warned against this last year when the Minister presented his budget for 2022, and I said at the time that the plan for this winter was last year's budget, and in last year's budget there wasn't one single additional bed funded beyond previous commitments."
Mr Cullinane added: "We don't have enough emergency department consultants, we don't have the specialist staff that is needed to treat people as quickly as possible.
"Outside of hospitals, what's also driving people into emergency departments is a lack of community care, the fact people are waiting longer to see GPs. Out-of-hours GP care isn't what it should be in most areas, in fact in some areas it's non-existent."
