The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has undertaken industrial action today in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon.
A work to rule form of industrial action is being taken by nurses, in response to the refusal by the HSE to recruit all new graduate psychiatric nurses.
The PNA says it will strike until every graduate nurse in the region is offered a HSE contract.
General Secretary Peter Hughes has stated that the issue of the recruitment of up to 300 graduate nurses is at the core of addressing the chronic understaffing throughout the mental health services which is impacting daily on the delivery of the service.
Only half of the required psychiatric nurse graduates for the area have been recruited.
The industrial action is taking places in mental health services in areas where all new graduated have not been offered permanent contracts.
Peter Hughes has been speaking to Midwest Radio’s Rian Bailey, and firstly gave more information on the implications for the strike locally:
