Harney throws down gauntlet to nurses

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney threw down the gauntlet to nurses as she warned them they would have to accept extra beds being put in wards if the overcrowding crisis at A&E was to be tackled.

Nurses at the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) conference in Killarney had said earlier that they could not cope with patient numbers and believed such a move would constitute a health and safety risk.

Ms Harney told the 350 delegates that if they want to see health service reform work, they must not see all change as a threat to their interests.