Management at the HSE has claimed they have a number of contingency plans in place for next weeks scheduled nurses strike.
The news comes as emergency department nurses plan to stop work for a number of hours from 8am next Tuesday due to the row over the current overcrowding crisis. The HSE also say as a result of the strike action a number of elective surgeries have been postponed at a number hospitals. Nurses say they will hold stoppages every two hours in an effort to force through reasonable working conditions. However the HSE claim the latest strike is about pay rather than the overcrowding crisis.
It is believed strikes are scheduled to take place at Emergency Departments in Beaumont, Tallaght, Tullamore, Cavan, Waterford, Galway and Cork’s Mercy hospitals until 4pm Tuesday afternoon. The HSE have said they will inform patients due to undergo elective surgeries at the above facilities by phone to make alternative arrangements if their procedure is affected.