Nurses and employers to meet over strike

Unions representing nurses in accident and emergency departments are due to meet with hospital management today in an effort to avert industrial action in two weeks.

Nurses are due to begin a series of work-to-rule stoppages on March 13 because of overcrowding of patients and excessive workloads.

Liam Doran, spokesman for the Irish Nurses Organisation, said: "We intend to outline our 10-point action plan that needs to be implemented by senior management to deal with the overcrowding issue and address the staffing overload.

"Also, we want to hear back from them as to how strong they’re going to engage with our people locally, at the level of each hospital, so that our people can see by the actions of management that this problem is going to be addressed and industrial action can be avoided."

The Health Service Employers Agency has vowed to work towards a solution and has urged the INO, as well as SIPTU, which also represents A&E nurses, to focus their efforts on resolving the issue.

Gerard Barry, spokesman for the HSEA, said: "If we work together over the next two weeks and give our undivided attention to trying to identify the underlying problems in our accident and emergency departments, I believe we are capable of drawing up an agreed set of measures which can alleviate some of the worst effects of these problems.

"I would urge the unions to use the next two weeks with that object in mind," he added.