An urgent safety inspection of every hospital accident and emergency unit in the State has been sought by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
It wants each hospital to carry out a comprehensive risk assessment of its A&E department and to take immediate steps to address any deficiencies.
The move follows a claim by the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) this week that overcrowding of A&E units is posing a "serious risk" to patients.
At least 248 patients were on trolleys in A&E departments yesterday awaiting admission to beds, according to the Irish Nurses' Organisation.
In a letter yesterday to the chief executive of the Health Service Executive, Mr Kevin Kelly, the HSA requested that hospitals carry out the risk assessment and report back to the authority by February 25th.
It also wants confirmation by that date that steps are being taken to tackle the problems identified. The letter was sent by the HSA's assistant chief executive with responsibility for workplace compliance, Mr Michael Henry.
Separate letters are to be written today to the chief executive of each of the 35-odd hospitals which have A&E departments.
The exercise sought by the HSA yesterday is likely to increase political pressure on the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, if widespread overcrowding problems are confirmed.
The Health and Safety Authority is an independent State-sponsored body responsible for enforcing health and safety legislation in the workplace.
It reports to Ms Harney's predecessor, Mr Micheál Martin, now Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
As well as the general concerns raised by the IHCA, the authority received a specific complaint yesterday from a consultant at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin about conditions at the A&E unit there.
That complaint will be dealt with as part of the State-wide exercise sought by the HSA yesterday.
Mr Tom Beegan, the authority's chief executive, said HSA inspectors had carried out investigations into individual A&E departments in the past in response to complaints about those units.
The IHCA contention, however, was that the problems were now system-wide, and as a result the authority was seeking a systematic response.
In a statement on Monday, the consultants' association said the annual winter bed crisis was an "entirely predictable" and "inexcusable" phenomenon.
It said the Health and Safety Authority had a major role to play under the Safety, Health and Welfare Act and called on it to inspect all A&E departments.
The association was subsequently in direct contact with the authority about the matter.
Mr Beegan said the HSA appreciated that the health service reforms announced recently by Ms Harney would take time to implement.
In the meantime, however, it was incumbent on hospitals to identify hazards that required immediate attention and to put "reasonable and practical" control measures in place.
Solving the problems in the long-term would require a partnership approach from all of the interests concerned, he said.
"Obviously the scale of the problem differs from place to place. It's a complex issue, but solutions will ultimately be found. There is no single answer to this," he said.
"We have told the Health Service Executive that we are available to meet them and to offer information and advice at any time."
