Nurses’ hours dispute goes to commission

THE Labour Relations Commission is to arbitrate a dispute over the hours worked by nurses at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

An Irish Nurses Organisation spokeswoman said progress had been made at a meeting between the INO, SIPTU and the Health Service Executive Mid-West.

The HSE Mid-West has said up to 1,800 additional operations could be carried out at the hospital every year if 70 theatre nurses worked their full contracted hours and if their unofficial tea breaks were abolished.