THE Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has said nurses will return to work stoppages after the weekend if the Health Service Executive does not make it a satisfactory offer at 3pm this afternoon.

THE Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association have announced that they will escalate their industrial action on Wednesday of next week with rolling stoppages around the country in support of their demands for a pay increase of 10% and a 35-hour working week.

THE Irish Nurses Organisation and Psychiatric Patients Association will decide this morning whether to escalate their action into regional work stoppages around the country.

THE dispute between nursing unions and healthemployers worsened yesterday when more than 700 nurses took part in the first phase of planned nationwideindustrial action.

STRIKE action by up to 40,000 nurses could potentially cripple the health service from next week.

NURSES yesterday served 21 days’ strike notice on the Health Service Executive (HSE) after voting overwhelmingly to fight for better pay and working hours.

HEALTH service management have been warned that nurses will consider all options, including industrial action, in their campaign for better pay and conditions.

Two nurses' unions today said they will ask their 40,000 members to consider strike action as they push for better pay and a 35-hour working week.

HEALTH managers are threatening to withhold pay increases due to nurses next month for failure to co-operate with the introduction of a new tier of health worker.

HEALTH employers have been accused of significantly under-estimating the level of assaults on nursing staff.

The Health Service Employers Agency has expressed concern about the high number of assaults on health workers in Ireland.

PUBLIC health doctors return to work today following a decision by union representatives to recommend acceptance of a deal aimed at ending a 10-week-old dispute.

SERVICES to monitor infectious diseases will be severely disrupted from today with the start of an all-out strike by the country’s 270 public health doctors.

A DAMNING report on the Accident and Emergency crisis has strongly criticised bed management and consultants’ practices in 23 major acute hospitals nationwide.

NURSES in accident and emergency departments yesterday deferred a threatened strike after unions and management decided to conduct an audit into the recent hospital overcrowding crisis.

THE Labour Relations Commission will hold a special meeting later this week to discuss the A&E crisis in the eastern region.

AS thousands of nurses prepare for industrial action, health service employers have accused militant nursing unions of placing an unbearable strain on the health service.

MENTAL handicap services at 50 residential care centres could be hit after a nurse’s ballot in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay.

JUNIOR doctors have pulled out of Labour Court talks on overtime which were due to begin tomorrow.

THE strike threat to geriatric and psychiatric patients in Dublin hospitals was temporarily lifted last night as SIPTU and health managers agreed to talks at the Labour Court on Monday.

HOPES that planned talks at the Labour Relations Commission today will provide a breakthrough in the dispute with junior doctors at Waterford General Hospital were being played down yesterday.

DOCTORS last night warned that patients on waiting lists will have their operations deferred if a series of one-day strikes are rolled out nationally next month.

OVERTIME payments to nurses are set to top 36 million euro this year as staff shortages continue to hit health services.