Nurses are to stage a lunchtime protest at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe today as part of a dispute between management and senior nursing staff.
The Irish Nurses Organisation claims five assistant directors of nursing, who have been on sick leave for a number of months, have been threatened with disciplinary action when they return to work at the 206-bed hospital.
The INO argues their absence is stress-related due to the way management dealt with them after they raised a number of complaints regarding the health and safety of staff and patients at the hospital as well as some of their conditions of employment.
The HSE has warned normal services will not be able to continue at the hospital if the INO refuses to allow other nurses to act up in their posts.
INO members at the hospital passed a vote of no confidence in the general manager and director of nursing at Portiuncula this week.
The INO said it would be willing to accept an offer from the Labour Relations Commission this week for both sides in the dispute to attend exploratory talks.