THE LABOUR Relations Commission has intervened in the row over conditions at the emergency department of the largest hospital in the midwest region where nurses are scheduled to hold a second work stoppage today.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said yesterday it had accepted an invitation from the commission to attend a conciliation hearing in the dispute over overcrowding at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. The hearing was scheduled to take place last night.
However, the nurses' union said that as of yesterday evening the industrial action was still scheduled to go ahead. Under current plans members of the INMO and Siptu are expected to stop work at the emergency department between 8.30am and 12.30pm today.
The nurses also staged a four-hour stoppage last Wednesday.
The organisation said the action was over gross overcrowding and the consequent negative effect this was having on the delivery of a satisfactory standard of nursing care in the emergency unit and throughout the hospital.
The HSE in the midwest did not comment yesterday.
Minister for Health James Reilly is awaiting a report on the problems at the emergency unit at the hospital, which has been drawn up by the new special delivery unit in his department.
The Irish Times understands that Dr Reilly was referring to Limerick in hard-hitting comments made on Monday in which he maintained that problems being experienced in certain emergency units were due to inefficient practices and "turf wars" between hospitals rather than a shortage of money.
"There are hospitals who are continuing to do day surgery who should have passed that day surgery out to the smaller hospitals. They haven't. There are nurses still employed in certain hospitals that are in certain departments where a department doesn't exist any more and there is a shortage in other hospitals," he said.
"It is not the fault of the INMO. They are quite happy to move [ but there are] turf wars . . . between some hospitals and that's going to stop. They are just some examples of issues that need to be addressed that are nothing to do with money but are to do with organisation and management."