MAJOR acute hospitals will be unable to function effectively for more than a few days if the nurses strike goes ahead on Monday, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).
The industrial director of the IMO, Mr Conal Devine, said last night that non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) "will inevitably face significant pressure on Monday. It will be worse on Tuesday and the situation on the third day is unthinkable."
In a Labour Court recommendation issued shortly before midnight, the chairman, Ms Evelyn Owens, is understood to have requested the nursing unions to defer industrial action to ballot members on her new proposals.
The court is understood to have proposed shortening the new staff nurse scale from IS to 13 years and increased the top salary from £20,350 to £21,000.
It has also reduced the age eligibility for early retirement from 57 to 55 and doubled the available quota of early retirement places from 100 nurses a year to 200.
Nursing union leaders meet this morning to consider the Labour Court proposals, as the IMO issued a stark warning on the implications of the strike. The IMO believes the major Dublin hospitals will be at high risk of a complete breakdown in services by the end of the week. Beaumont and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, are understood to be particularly vulnerable, although local strike committees have made significant concessions on the cover nurses will provide.
Mr Devine says NCHDs "are already stretched. It's a question of how much blood can be squeezed from a stone. They are not trained to do nurses' duties like IVs (intravenous injections) and transfusions, especially where small children are involved."
Under the guidelines issued by the Irish Nurses Organisation, "extended role duties" such as IVs, ECGs and phlebotomies (taking blood samples) will cease.
Nurses can be called off picket duty by local strike committees to respond to emergencies, but Mr Devine says there is no way 2,500 NCHDs can substitute for 26,000 nurses. He believes a strike of more than a few days will leave his members unable to cope.
He was also concerned at the effect on community-care services. There would be extra pressure on GPs as hospitals discharged non-urgent cases and closed outpatient services.
The Nursing Alliance leaders meet this morning to consider the new proposals from the Labour Court.
Although the Health Employer Services Agency is expected to accept the court's recommendation, a special Government sub-committee will monitor today's developments.
It includes the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, and the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn. They will consider the court's recommendation in the context of national pay agreements as well as fiscal and other policy objectives.
The key decision on whether to call off Monday's strike rests with the INO, which represents two thirds of the State's 26,000 nurses.
There are fears that the INO executive may have difficulty achieving consensus today. It may decide to refer the matter-back to its eight regional executives, or opt for a special delegate conference to decide its stance. This would take at least six days to convene. If the other unions involved favoured deferring action to consider the Labour Court proposals, this would pose considerable problems for the Nursing Alliance.