'How important is health?' nurses ask minister

"We want to ask the minister, how important is health in an election year?"

So said the nurses picketing outside St James's Hospital, Dublin as part of a two-hour strike today against overcrowding and difficult working conditions in A&E wards.

The strike was held by about 800 nurses at 30 hospitals around the state. The strike ended at 2 p.m. At the same A&E nurses nation-wide began an eight day work-to-rule in which they will refuse to answer the phones, take blood samples or carry out ECGs.

And there was little support for Minister for Health, Mr Martin's claim that today's industrial action was unnecessary.

"We are constantly being told this country is leading the way in business, in IT and in technology. Well, how important is health to this Government?" asked nurse practitioner Ms Olivia Smith.

The conditions are intolerable, especially for elderly or extremely sick patients ... and the overcrowding makes the unit very unsafe Ms Olivia Smith, a nurse protesting at St James's Hospital

Holding a picket placard for the second time during this Government's tenure, Ms Smith said the problems in A&E wards are part of a wider crisis in the health services.

"The conditions are intolerable, especially for elderly or extremely sick patients. There is no space for treatment, no beds to admit patients and the overcrowding makes the unit very unsafe."

St James's A&E ward is operating at double and sometimes triple its capacity, said Ms Smith.

She was quick to stress industrial action is not a favoured tool for nurses and will not be prolonged unnecessarily. But she said: "We have to do it to highlight what conditions are like".

Her colleague, staff nurse Mr Charlie O'Connor, said patients attending St James's A&E ward wait between four and 40 hours for a bed. "Yesterday morning there were 23 patients waiting for beds and that is not unusual."

The Government was partially responsible, nurses said.

"The problem has got worse over the last four years. The demographics in Ireland and in Dublin have changed. The population is getting older, and sicker and the population has increased basically outstripped the capacity of the health service," Ms Smith said.

Mr O'Connor said St James's management have introduced initiatives but they had not solved the difficulties. "We now have a minor injuries unit and the hospital board are doing their best but there's a lack of resources."

Ms Bríd Allen said the working conditions had created a high turnover of A&E nurses. "It's so difficult to work under these conditions. Most nurses have about three years experience now. It used to be 10 years or more but many started to leave."

For St James's, an improved admission and discharge policy would have an immediate impact on conditions, said Ms Allen.

Nurses on the picket line believe they have the public's support, especially those who had been to an A&E unit recently or had relatives in hospital.

"There is a perception that this strike is about money but its not about money. Anyone who has had to experience the long wait in A&E understands why we're doing this. They know the pressures the staff face," said Ms Caroline Curran.