Nurses set to walk out of A&Es on Tuesday as talks with HSE collapse

STRIKING nurses are to walk out of seven hospital A&E departments from 8am on Tuesday following a breakdown in talks with the HSE last night.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) issued a timetable for strike action after they claimed HSE officials failed to come up with concrete proposals to reduce overcrowding “bedlam” which has driven them to take the action.

INMO deputy general secretary Dave Hughes said the breakdown in talks aimed at averting the strike at the Workplace Relations Commission, comes against a background of severe shortages of nursing staff.

“In spite of agreements providing for the immediate recruitment of 144 nurses across 12 of the 26 emergency departments, which cannot be filled on current terms, health employers failed to produce an incentivised recruitment package. UK and Irish private hospitals are actively recruiting Irish nurses with attractive incentive packages while the Irish health service is haemorrhaging nurses,” he said.

General secretary Liam Doran said it was crucial to incentivise not just the recruitment, but also the retention of nurses. Some private hospitals are offering bonuses to new recruits and other additions because of the competitive jobs market.

Strikes will take place in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and Cork’s Mercy Hospital from 8am-10pm. This will be followed by strikes in Tallaght Hospital Dublin and Cavan General Hospital from 10am-12 noon.

The next phase will involve University Hospital Waterford and Tullamore from 12-2pm. Nurses in University Hospital Galway will strike from 2pm4pm. The strike will be confined to A&E departments and other sections of the hospital will operate as normal. Nurses in all locations will be on standby in the event of a major emergency.