The Irish Patients' Association is warning elective procedures may have be curtailed this winter due to severe overcrowding in Irish hospitals.
The group says some emergency departments are dealing with twice, if not three times more patients this year compared to last.
The INMO is also among those warning of the effects of overcrowding, with a press conference on the matter to be held later today.
Spokesperson for the Irish Patients Association, Stephen McMahon is calling for one policy in particular to be introduced.
''So what we would like to see is that if somebody is given an appointment for surgery and operation in the future, that the surgeon and their staff actually tell the patient, that they do have an entitlement to get their treatment onto the cross border directive, so that they don't have to wait years to get that treatment.''
