Emergency Department Nurses to go ahead with strike action

Emergency Department Nurses are to go ahead with strike action next week after they voted to reject a package to tackle overcrowding and staffing issues.

Nurses voted by 58% to 42% against the package which was agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission last month.

In response to the ballot result, the executive council of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says the first in a series of strikes will go ahead on Thursday next week.

It will involve two-hour rolling stoppages at Emergency departments around the country.

In a statement, the HSE said it was hopeful that further discussions with nurses could prevent industrial action.

INMO General Secretary Liam Doran says he understands why nurses rejected the deal.

"They have absolutely no confidence in hospital management to implement the proposals on a 24/7 basis.

"If you like, that lack of confidence was exemplified by the fact that in the last two days we've had 550 people on trolleys in a totally predictable third period that was not managed, and it left front-line staff and patients totally compromised."