Health service system 'grinding to a halt', claim HSE
The health service will not be able to cope with an escalation of industrial action, it was claimed today.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said the stoppages are slowly bringing the system to a halt.
Brendan Mulligan of the HSE said he believes health services could not continue to cope with a nationwide work-to-rule and rolling work stoppages.
"Patients are suffering," he said. "The system is slowly grinding to a halt."
Another series of short work stoppages are expected to be announced by nursing unions after talks with health chiefs collapsed.
The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) are meeting this afternoon to finalise details of further industrial action.
The unions, which represent 45,000 nurses and midwives, have vowed to continue their campaign for better pay and working hours.
The unions have also accused the HSE of failing patients and nurses by walking away from radical reform.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said any work stoppages would not affect the continuation of essential and emergency patient care and were not designed to disrupt the patients, but would put pressure on hospital management at local level.
"The two executives of the two unions involved are meeting later today and we will be drawing up escalation measures," he said.
"They will involve work stoppages of short duration in the workplace.
"This campaign will continue. The solidarity of 45,000 midwives and nurses to this campaign is 100%."
A nationwide work to rule, which began on March 12, is continuing in facilities all over the country, with nursing staff refusing to answer telephones, do IT duties or attend meetings.
Yesterday, the INO and PNA published an offer they had tabled to the HSE giving nurses an enhanced role.
They unveiled changes to admissions and discharge, faster response times and cost-cutting measures.
The package also included a commitment to cut A&E waiting times by four hours, reduce overcrowding overall by giving more power to senior nurses rather than waiting for overworked doctors, and allow nurses to prescribe and administer drugs including pain relief and antibiotics.
In return they want a 35-hour working week and a 10.6% pay rise.
The unions' joint meeting will take place at 1.30pm, with an agreed timetable for the renewed escalation to their campaign of action to be announced afterwards.
