Nurses at the emergency department at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick are to stage a four-hour work stoppage next Wednesday afternoon.
The move by members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is in protest at what it describes as "appalling conditions for patients and the clinical safety risks".
The INMO said that it will maintain a nursing presence, in the hospital's emergency department over the four-hour period between 1pm and 5pm "to ensure all unforeseen developments can be responded to immediately".
In a statement, industrial relations officer Mary Fogarty said: "Nurses working at the hospital have repeatedly raised their concerns in respect of the clinical safety issues with both Hiqa and senior HSE management. Unfortunately, due to the inability of both bodies to address the deplorable clinical environment now visible daily at the hospital, nurses are driven to publicly highlight the extremely serious situation through industrial action.
"The INMO has called upon Hiqa, An Bord Altranais (Nursing Board) and the Medical Council to inspect the Mid Western Regional Hospital, and other acute hospitals, to establish the impact on patient care and safe practice arising from continuous overcrowding," she said.
"The INMO now believes that, in order to protect patients and staff in the Mid Western Regional Hospital, direct intervention is required, by the Minister for Health, to ensure safe, responsive and adequately staffed services are available for people in the Mid West area."
