The Irish Patients' Association has strongly criticised the failure of the Labour Relations Commission talks on hospital doctors' work rosters. It claimed the breakdown was due to the apparent lack of willingness to compromise on both sides.
It called on the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to intervene in the dispute before it became nationwide.
The Labour Party spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus, called on the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, to intervene quickly.
"In recent weeks the Minister for Health has sat on his hands and failed to intervene in this dispute," she said. "He must act now or the consequences for the health service will be extremely grave."
The South Eastern Health Board said it was "deeply concerned and disappointed" that today's industrial action at Waterford was going ahead.
The Irish Medical Organisation, however, accused the SEHB of having failed to come up with any new proposals at yesterday's talks and of engaging in a cynical cost-cutting exercise at Waterford Regional.
The disputed rosters should be suspended immediately, it said, and the National Taskforce on Medical Staffing should be allowed to get on with working out how the reduction in non-consultant hospital doctors' (NCHD) hours is to be implemented.
The SEHB said 160 outpatient appointments and 21 surgical procedures due for today have been cancelled at Waterford Regional Hospital. Cancer, dialysis and maternity clinics will go ahead. A&E, the intensive care unit and the coronary care unit will be open as normal.
It had been hoped that further disruption could be averted if yesterday's talks at the Labour Relations Commission between the IMO and the South Eastern Health Board resolved the dispute.
However, the attempt which followed a weekend invitation by the LRC quickly failed.
The dispute centres on changes in rosters at a number of hospitals including Waterford and Tullamore.
The IMO reiterated that the changes were introduced without prior agreement while the issue of rosters is still under consideration by the national taskforce.
The Health Service Employers' Agency says rosters have had to be changed to allow for a reduction in the work hours of NCHDs under an EU Directive. In a letter sent to doctors by the Minister for Health and Children in May of last year, he said that the national taskforce would prepare "a detailed implementation plan for the reduction of working hours for NCHDs". The taskforce is due to report in December.
Because the changes mean an NCHD's basic week could include duties outside normal daytime hours, the IMO says training of hospital doctors will suffer.
The HSEA says, however, that the dispute is about the desire of NCHDs to protect their overtime earnings.
The HSEA did not attend yesterday's talks at the LRC and the IMO later expressed surprise at this.
The HSEA said it was not invited to attend but that it would be prepared to be at future talks if this was thought helpful by the IMO.