Nurses at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick have begun a work-to-rule policy in protest at overcrowding at the hospital.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association (INMO) said the hospital’s 600 nursing staff would stop a number of functions including attending hospital meetings and co-operating with audits.
INMO spokeswoman Mary Fogarty claimed the hospital was failing to cope with the overflow of patients following the closure of emergency departments in Nenagh and Ennis and the relocation of in-patient surgery, trauma and cancer care to Limerick.
She said the hospital was in chaos with more than 40 patients on trolleys and in temporary beds yesterday.
But the Health Service Executive said today this number had been reduced.
Ms Fogarty said a review of the current action would take place next week and an escalation would be considered if no progress had been made.