Some 400 nurses at University College Hospital Galway filed out together at two minutes past eight yesterday morning. They were greeted by a cacophony of horns from largely supportive commuters.
The strike plan faced its first test at about 8.30 a.m. An ambulance arrived with two casualties who had been injured in a road accident at Clarinbridge. They were seen to immediately.
"Early days yet, but it is very reassuring to know that the system works," Dr Mary Hynes, the Western Health Board's director of public health, told The Irish Times.
The fact that there had been so much preparatory work and that relations were good with strike committees had helped greatly, she said. "We have been monitoring the pressure points pretty closely, and resolving problems as they arose. So far so good," she said.
Chemotherapy appointments will be met, and other vital services such as the premature baby units would not be affected by the industrial action, Mr Colm Keaveney of SIPTU and the Galway Nursing Alliance, said.
"Galway will lead nationally in terms of state-of-the-art emergency services," he said. This was no longer a pay and conditions issue only, he explained.
"This is an opportunity for nurses to vent their anger at the crisis in the hospital service generally - a crisis which, if politicians were to admit it, has been affecting these services for some time. We have been on an emergency footing here for the past year due to staff shortages."
Ms Helen Murphy of the Galway Nursing Alliance described it as the "saddest, darkest day" in the profession. "The mood on the picket line has been very sombre," she said.
"We realise it won't be easy, and it is very stressful working in hospital for nothing. However, I can assure the public that no patient will die in hospital because of this, and we will work 24 hours flat, for nothing, to ensure that."
"People don't realise how seriously the nurses are taking this," she said, emphasising that this was a public health issue. "It is in the interests of the patients, and not just nurses." Ms Murphy said that the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, must listen rather than talk. "All the Government Ministers have been speaking to nurses in a patronising fashion for the past few weeks."
The WHB has established telephone numbers which members of the public can use. For community services, which will be cancelled, the numbers to ring between 9.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. are: Galway (091) 523122; Mayo (094) 22333; Roscommon (0903) 27990.
For hospitals, the 24-hour information numbers are: Merlin Park Regional, Galway (091) 775775; University College Hospital, Galway (091) 524222; St Bridget's Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway (0905) 42117; Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo (094) 21733; St Mary's Hospital, Castlebar (094) 21333; and Roscommon County Hospital (0903) 26200.