New bid to end psychiatric nurses' dispute

The Labour Relations Commission has intervened in a bid to solve an industrial dispute at a psychiatric hospital, it emerged tonight.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) confirmed management and staff in the row at St Luke’s Hospital in Clonmel, Co Tipperary would hold joint discussions with the commission at 2pm tomorrow.

Around 170 psychiatric nurses began providing only emergency cover today over the hospital’s alleged failure to fully investigate a senior staff member.

Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the PNA, said the union had been invited to joint talks this afternoon after they called upon the newly formed Health Service Executive to intervene.

“This offers some possibility of a way out of the morass,” he said.

“We are continuing our action as we are going into the talks but they won’t escalate.”

The union’s general secretary said there had been problems between nursing management and staff in the Clonmel hospital for several years.

He claimed an investigation into allegations lodged against a senior staff member should take place before that person comes back to work.

The Health Service Executive South East Region, formerly the South Eastern Health Board, said it was surprised and disappointed by the PNA’s actions.

The HSE said that following previous recommendations from the LRC all sides had agreed to address any problems through a facilitation process by a mutually agreed third party.

The executive said that “strenuous efforts” were made to follow the agreement but the PNA threatened industrial action after the senior nurse manager said she was returning to work.

The HSE had been looking for the dispute to be solved through the LRC.