Nurses ballot on action over lack of staff

PATIENTS at four provincial hospitals face industrial action by nurses angry at inadequate staffing levels.

Nurses, who staged a lunchtime protest in Mullingar yesterday, continued a work-to-rule overnight as unions and the Midland Health Board prepare to go before the Labour Relations Court today.

Nurses in Carlow yesterday voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, while ballots commence today in Bantry and Cashel hospitals, where inadequate staffing levels are being challenged by the Irish Nurses Organisation.