Talks bid to resolve Cork psychiatric unit row

Conciliation talks to resolve a row over staffing that has led to a three-month delay in the opening of a new €15m psychiatric unit at Cork University Hospital (CUH) are under way at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).

The latest round of talks mark the fourth attempt at the LRC since January 16 to overcome the impasse that has kept the 50-bed state-of-the-art acute unit closed. While the main objection among unions centres on proposed staffing levels, the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has also stated its opposition to the use of healthcare assistants, saying the grade cannot “add anything to adult acute services”.

Last September the HSE proposed 66 whole-time equivalent (WTE) posts to run the unit, to include 55 nurses, five healthcare assistants and six nurse managers. This was to staff 36 general adult beds, eight psychiatry-of-old-age beds and six high-observation beds.