Beaumont nurses in work to rule

Nurses at Beaumont Hospital began a work to rule today over the placement of emergency patients on trolleys in ward areas to ease overcrowding.

The action by the Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation followed the move by Beaumont Hospital management to deal with a large number of emergency department admissions .

The industrial action means that nurses will not accept or make phonecalls regarding management functions and will only take calls about clinical matters. This action will continue until the trolleys are removed from wards, the union said.

In a statement Beaumont Hospital said the emergency department was under “severe pressure”following the bank holiday weekend.

The hospital said 29 patients were awaiting admission to the department this morning, with that figure down to 16 by 2pm. The department “remains under considerable pressure”the statement said.

Ten additional beds were provided on wards to help the emergency department cope, and two of these were overnight, the hospital said. No extra beds were added this evening, the statement added.

“Overcrowding the hospital was not a solution to the issue of admissions through the emergency department,” Noel Treanor, union industrial relations officer, said.

The industrial action is “aimed at sustaining safe patient care in an unsafe environment,” Mr Treanor said.

The action also includes nurses not attending bed management meetings, which take place off the wards, and nurses not transferring patients to private beds from wards. Both of these elements will continue until de-escalation is agreed, he said.

Union representatives are due to meet with hospital management at midday tomorrow.