A leading Northern Ireland hospital was today poised to call in a trade union anti-sectarian training unit following claims of tensions between Catholic and Protestant staff.
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The Mater Hospital in north Belfast said the recent sectarian tensions and clashes in the area had been difficult for the local community and that "some staff have been directly affected."
But it rejected an allegation that things had got so bad inside the hospital that groups of workers were refusing to speak and co-operate with each other or were boycotting each other.
The hospital chief executive Ms Patricia Gordon met Ms Patricia McKeown, regional secretary of the health workers union Unison, to discuss the issue.
Ms McKeown said: "It is an unfortunate fact that the tensions across the community in north Belfast have filtered into the workplace."
She said only a "small number of people" were involved. But she said the matter had been raised with the hospital Trust and proposals put forward to tackle it.
"It is a process of saying that this is not acceptable, offering training and making people face up to their behaviour."
The hospital said it had received a formal request from Unison to consider the use of Counteract - the anti-sectarian training unit of the ICTU.
A statement said: "The Trust has agreed to make contact with Counteract to consider integrating this type of training as part of its overall training on equal opportunities and the equality statutory duties."
However the hospital insisted that staff had continued to work together to provide services to patients and the local community.
"The Trust refutes the allegation that groups of workers are `refusing to speak and cooperate with each other' and are 'boycotting' one another.