Nursing unions and health service employers resume talks at the Labour Relations Commission this morning on the work to rule by Accident & Emergency nurses.
The action, which began following a two hour strike on Wednesday, means A&E nurses are refusing to perform certain duties except in life-threatening cases. These duties include applying plasters and intraven- ous drips and answering the telephone.
Talks last week failed to resolve issues concerning admission and discharge policies and security.
Nurses in the Irish Nurses' Organisation and SIPTU want more security in A&E departments and this demand has come particularly from outside Dublin.
They also want a system in which a bed manager could cancel planned admissions to make room for emergency cases. This would be done in line with a protocol which would be worked out between nurses, doctors and management. In addition, they want greater utilisation of nursing home beds for patients who no longer need acute care.
A forum on Accident & Emergency services, separate from the LRC talks, will meet to- morrow to address the issues.