Threat of action over bed closures

THE country’s largest nursing union has said it is not ruling out industrial action over the closure of 25 beds at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, which has now gone ahead.

A meeting between the INMO and hospital management, due to take place yesterday, has been put back to today instead.

Noel Treanor, industrial relations officer with the INMO said: “We will be talking to management, and industrial action has not been ruled out.”

He said they will be seeking certain commitments from management and if these are not met, he said, they will consider further action.

INMO and SIPTU had asked the HSE to postpone the bed closures.

A HSE spokesman said yesterday: “Management at the hospital met with the INMO and SIPTU nursing representatives on Wednesday last to discuss reconfiguration of beds within the hospital and the planned total reduction in overall bed capacity of 25 (14 surgical and 11 medical).”

The bed cuts took place earlier this week.

The hospital is faced with a budget deficit of €15 million already this year, the highest of any hospital in the country.

The Government has told hospitals there will be no extra allocations, and HSE management has set about cost-cutting measures which it says it hopes will have the least impact on front-line services.

Minister of State Jan O’Sullivan said that there was a case to be made for diverting a portion of the HSE West budget to Limerick.

She said she also wants to know if €8m promised to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital under the reconfiguration of acute hospitals in the Mid-West was ever delivered.