Health service employers are to present new proposals to the nursing unions on Monday in an attempt to avert industrial action in hospital A&E departments throughout the State.
While union leaders say they will review the situation in the light of these measures, they are not optimistic that next Wednesday's two-hour strike or subsequent action can be deferred.
The offer of further short-term measures to ease the crisis in A&E departments was made during six hours of talks at the Health Service Employers' Agency offices in Dublin yesterday. The general secretary of the Irish Nurses' Organisation, Mr Liam Doran, said last night that any new proposals had to recognise the key role of bed managers in hospitals and provide a definite policy on patient admissions and discharges which would ensure that beds were available to cope with extra demand in A&E departments.
The proposed industrial action consists of a strike from 12 noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, during which time nurses will only be available to handle life-threatening situations. This will be followed by a work-to-rule, refusals to fill out forms, answer phones or do other non-nursing duties.
Meanwhile, the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association has written to the HSEA objecting to some of the proposals from the INO. It claims these would unilaterally alter its members' terms and conditions.