Tallaght Hospital says it is hiring extra nurses to deal with serious pressures on its services.

The hospital says it is increasing  staffing numbers in key areas including the emergency department, and this includes 10 new nurses starting from today (Monday).

Tallaght was forced to cancel nine non-urgent planned inpatient procedures and six non-urgent surgical day cases out of 21 scheduled patients on Friday, in order to relieve pressure on emergency services and beds.

Hospital management met with nursing unions on Friday to update them on the implementation of its operational plan to deal with the overcrowding crisis.

The unions had raised serious concerns about overcrowding at the hospital and its effects on patient safety.