The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is to begin a consultation with its members on a possible campaign of industrial action.

The decision was taken following an emergency meeting of the executive council of the INMO. The council is made up of working nurses and midwives. They have decided to begin a period of consultation “in pursuance of safe staffing levels that are underpinned with legislation and clinical facilitation in all hospitals to ensure a safe skills mix”.

Some 931 patients were left waiting on trolleys on January 3 – the highest single-day figure ever recorded by the INMO. Furthermore, the HSE has acknowledged that things could get worse in hospitals nationwide before they get better.

INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, pointed out that nurses and midwives have long warned that overcrowding would be a major problem in January “unless serious and meaningful action was taken”.

“What transpired last week in our hospitals was totally avoidable. Nurses and midwives expect and deserve to work in a safe practice environment in which they can deliver the safe and excellent care they are trained to provide,” she commented.

According to INMO president, Karen McGowan, nurses and midwives “are being asked to crisis manage a situation that is of our employers’ own making”.

“We know that levels of burnout are at an all-time high. We must now take whatever action is deemed necessary to ensure that we do not endure this level of danger in our workplaces in the coming months and years on a continuous replay mode,” she said.

The INMO is to commence a series of information and consultation meetings with members over the coming month.