CUH theatre nurses set for ballot on industrial action

The INMO will ballot members in Cork University Hospital’s theatre department amid concerns over staffing shortages, hours owed, and what it described as unsafe working conditions

Liam Conway said nurses in the department are owed more than 5,500 hours of time-in-lieu but are unable to take it due to persistent overruns on theatre lists and insufficient staffing. File picture: Larry Cummins

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is to ballot its theatre department members in Cork University Hospital (CUH) for industrial action.

The union said the move comes following ongoing issues in the department, including staff shortages, thousands of hours of time-in-lieu owed, misuse of the on-call system, significant overruns, and what it described as unsafe staffing levels.