STAFF AT OUR Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will today hold a work to rule in protest over staff shortages in the hospital.

Currently there are 104 unfilled whole-time equivalent positions in the hospital, leaving the nurses in the hospital struggling to provide adequate care for patients.

Today’s action is being organised by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and will see nurses limiting themselves to core care duties, with them not attending non-clinical meetings, inputting computer data, or answering telephones.

“If you had a bus company that had five buses yet they only had three drivers,” said Tony Fitzpatrick, INMO representative for the North Eastern Area on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, “they wouldn’t say carry on regardless and drive the five buses with three drivers.”

Yet in an acute ward where you have seriously ill patients it is expected within the HSE that three nurses would carry on and look after the three patients.

Today’s work to rule will be coming into effect after talks at the Workplace Relations Commision broke down on Friday.

The Emergency Department in the hospital will remain open today, although a number of operations have been cancelled.

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