NURSING STAFF AT Beaumont in Dublin have agreed to defer a work-to-rule action planned for next week.

INMO members at the hospital — one of the busiest in the country — voted unanimously in favour of industrial action at the height of the nationwide overcrowding crisis, earlier this month.

They said the Emergency Department was no longer safe for patients and staff.

That action, however, has now been deferred, following an agreement at at the Labour Relations Commission.

“Management have agreed to increase staffing levels in the department on both days and nights,” a statement from the union said.

They are to continue their efforts to secure additional community beds to address the problem of delayed discharges in the hospital and have agreed to a joint review of the hospital escalation policy.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer Lorraine Monaghan said it was a positive outcome for the union’s members at Beaumont ED.

“We are pleased that management have agreed to increase staffing levels in the interest of providing a safe level of care to patients in the Emergency Department.

All barriers to the recruitment of nurses must now be lifted.

She said the agreement would only last “if management’s proposals are implemented in a timely fashion”.

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