Nurses working in one of the country's busiest Emergency Departments (EDs) are to begin industrial action next week, it has been confirmed.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), nurses at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin are to hold a lunchtime protest on Monday (October 12), before beginning a work to rule at 8am on Tuesday (October 13).

The nurses voted in favour of industrial action as a result of major overcrowding in the ED. The INMO claims that more than 100 patients are ‘regularly being accommodated in the ED which has the capacity to accommodate only 18 patients on trolleys'.

The work to rule means nurses will not carry out any clerical work or non-nursing duties, including the use of IT. Nurses will also refuse to answer all phones except the two emergency ambulance phones in the ED. This is to ensure that patients receive an immediate response in the event of an emergency.

The INMO insisted that patients attending the ED are exposed to ‘unacceptable conditions', with staff ‘unable to provide the most basic standards of privacy and dignity'. A lack of available beds at the hospital means that some patients are being looked after ‘on corridors and in inappropriate spaces'.

The INMO has also pointed out that management at the hospital refuses to count the number of patients on trolleys in the same way as other hospitals, resulting in the figures being understated.

According to the INMO's Trolley and Ward Watch figures, between January and September of this year, 3,750 patients have spent time on trolleys in the ED while awaiting an inpatient bed. This is a jump of 134% when compared with the same period in 2014.

"Our members are totally frustrated at management's failure to address this problem or even acknowledge the extent of the crisis caused by this overcrowding. Patient care and safety is being compromised on a daily basis because of this intolerable overcrowding which totally prevents our members from providing the care they believe is necessary for their patients," commented INMO industrial relations officer, Philip McAnenly.

He added that the decision to commence industrial action was unanimous.

A spokesperson for the hospital said that it ‘deeply regrets' this decision by nurses, but management will be putting in place contingency plans to minimise disruption to patients.

The spokesperson said that hospital management has acknowledged the pressure ED staff face and has undertaken ‘a range of measures in recent months' to ease the situation, including the recruitment of additional staff and increasing the number of ward beds to facilitate the transfer of patients from the ED as soon as possible.

"However, it should also be noted that the hospital capacity challenges facing SVUH are bigger than this hospital, and reflects both a shortage of beds across the wider hospital system and a need for greater investment in step-down care in the community for patients no longer requiring acute care in a hospital setting," the spokesperson added.