Industrial action that had been planned by nurses at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda has been suspended.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), nurses at the hospital were due to hold a lunchtime protest on November 19, followed by a two-hour work stoppage on November 26.

The action was in response to current conditions in the hospital's Emergency Department (ED), which the INMO insists is ‘unsafe and unacceptable'.

Its Trolley/Ward Watch figures for the hospital show that the number of patients on trolleys while waiting to be admitted to hospital was 243% higher in October 2014 when compared to October 2013.

However following eight-hour talks on Monday with the HSE, and chaired by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), INMO members have decided to suspend their action pending further talks.

Further direct talks with the HSE are due to be held on November 27 and December 4, before the LRC reconvenes on December 10.

INMO industrial relations officer, Tony Fitzpatrick, welcomed the ‘proactive engagement of management' in the talks. However he added that the situation still requires ‘significant further engagement and action'.

"It is necessary that the parties work to agree resolutions in order to protect patients and ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of over-stretched members," he added.