The organisation said the clear message from the medical profession to the Government was that despite continuous negative spin and baseless blame, the lack of reform in the health service and problems in A&E departments were due to the failure to provide enough hospital beds.

It said that Ireland's increasing population alone required extra beds and added that proper funding and resources continued to be denied to the health service during a time of economic boom.

A motion before the organisation's AGM next week calls on the HSE to cease arguing with health professionals about the exact number of patients on trolleys, and to ensure that no patient is on a trolley following the clinical decision to admit them to a bed.

A motion before the organisation's AGM next week calls on the HSE to cease arguing with health professionals about the exact number of patients on trolleys, and to ensure that no patient is on a trolley following the clinical decision to admit them to a bed.