Row between psychiatric nurses and HSE comes down to money

AFTER four days of protracted debate in the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the battle between the HSE and psychiatric nurses last night came down to just one issue — money.

Unfortunately for psychiatric patients nationwide, the battle over the amount of compensation nurses should be entitled to if injured at work looked last night as if it might be insurmountable. If that is the case, the overtime ban currently in place in mental health facilities nationwide could be ramped up within hours meaning even more services will be curtailed.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) and SIPTU have secured a number of compromises from the HSE during the talks at the LRC which started last Friday.