The president of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine, Dr Emily O’Connor is calling on the HSE and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) to “reach a solution in a sustainable fashion.” The health system is already overstretched and there needs to be immediate action, she told RTE’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show. The association’s concerns were addressed in a letter sent to both the HSE and the INMO. “We wanted to flag the effects that a strike is going to have on emergency departments.” Dr O’Connor pointed out that emergency departments typically see between 3,500 and 4,000 patients over any 24 hour period. “We will do our best,” she said, but she is concerned that nurses who are trained in the Manchester Triage method will not be available. Under the Manchester Triage system nurses are able to identify who needs to be treated first. Doctors are not trained to do this, she said. We are concerned we won’t have