Strike action deferred at the Department of Psychiatry at St Luke's Hospital

Planned industrial action at the Department of Psychiatry at St Luke’s Hospital is deferred indefinitely following a breakthrough in talks between staff and management.
Deputy Bobby Aylward raised the issue of shortcomings in the psychiatric services in Kilkenny at the Public Accounts Committee last week.
The Director General of the HSE, John Connaghan said that he had been made aware of the situation at the hospital and added that he was ‘appreciative to staff’ for diverting strike action describing the situation as ‘a wake up call’ and that ‘local management were on the case’.
“While I was encouraged by the Director General’s statement, it is so important that the HSE now acknowledges that the staff at the DOP in St Luke’s have given them a lifeline by deferring strike action.
“They can do so by returning mid-July with a realistic plan that will drastically improve both the working conditions of the staff and health and safety of the vulnerable patients they cater for,” he added.
“The issue has rumbled on for far too long and we need swift action,” he said.