Nurses in seven Emergency Departments (EDs) nationwide are to go ahead with strike action planned for December 15, it has been confirmed.

The nurses, all members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), voted 92% in favour of the action in a recent ballot. The decision was taken to ballot members on industrial action due to the continuing overcrowding and inadequate staffing levels in EDs nationwide. This has led to patient care being compromised on an ongoing basis, the INMO insisted.

In an attempt to avert strike action, the INMO, HSE and Department of Health officials had entered talks chaired by the Workplace Relations Commission. However, these talks have ‘broken down without agreement' and the action will commence next Tuesday as originally planned.

"While management accepted that a state of bedlam existed in our EDs and made statements on the need for greater security, cleaning and management support, their whole approach lacked credibility and urgency, by their failure to commit to a realistic recruitment and retention plan," commented INMO deputy general secretary, Dave Hughes.

The INMO insisted that health employers have ‘failed to produce an incentivised recruitment package' for nurses.

"UK and Irish private hospitals are actively recruiting Irish nurses with attractive incentive packages while the Irish health service is haemorrhaging nurses," it said.

According to the INMO's ‘Trolley/Ward Watch' figures, almost 2,500 admitted patients were left waiting on trolleys in the first week of December alone.

As part of the planned action, seven hospitals will have two-hour rolling strikes with pickets on December 15. The affected hospitals and times are:

-Beaumont Hospital in Dublin from 8am to 10am
-Mercy University Hospital in Cork from 8am to 10am
-Tallaght Hospital in Dublin from 10am to 12 noon
-Cavan General Hospital from 10am to 12 noon
-University Hospital Waterford from 12 noon to 2pm
-Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore from 12 noon to 2pm
-University Hospital Galway from 2pm to 4pm.

The INMO added that it ‘remains available for meetings to discuss contingency measures and the substantive issues in dispute'.