Four critical care beds were vacant at Cavan General Hospital on the night last week that a Monaghan woman had to be sent to the North for treatment due to the reported lack of intensive care beds at hospitals in the Republic.
The beds which were free in Cavan included two intensive care beds and two high dependency beds.
The disclosure comes amid continuing criticism of the fact that the Monaghan patient could not be treated in her own North Eastern Health Board region. She was admitted to Monaghan General Hospital last week believed to be suffering from gastroenteritis.
However, when her condition worsened it was felt she probably needed bowel surgery but as the hospital, under current guidelines, is not permitted to do major surgery, Cavan hospital was asked to take the patient.
Cavan, however, under current guidelines, is not permitted to do major surgery which could result in a patient needing intensive care, so it had to refuse to treat her also.
Then Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and up to three hospitals in Dublin were asked to accept her transfer, but they couldn't take the patient as they had no empty intensive care beds.
Several hours later the woman was transferred to the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen where she is still in a critical condition. The health board, in a statement last week, said there was "pressure" on intensive care beds in its region on the night. It also said decisions regarding the care of patients "is a matter for the clinician involved".
Mr Peadar McMahon, chairman of the Monaghan Community Hospital Alliance, asked why if clinicians could make their own decisions was the health board issuing them with "black and white" directives on what they could and couldn't do.
Patients in the north east were being "hung out to dry" and had to search for treatment where ever they could, he added.