<p>
	Some 35 patients were on trolleys in the emergency department of St Vincent&#39;s Hospital in Dublin yesterday morning, as nurses began a work-to-rule in protest at overcrowding.</p>
<p>
	The nurses are refusing to carry out some duties such as answering phones, but they are insisting that patient care will not be affected.</p>
<p>
	Dispute</p>
<p>
	Efforts by management to deploy more nurses were blocked by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), which insisted that they be paid at a premium rate.</p>
<p>
	&quot;This is contrary to the claim by the INMO that this dispute is not about money,&quot; a hospital spokesman insisted.</p>
<p>
	He warned that the nurses&#39; action is causing increased challenges for the hospital&#39;s emergency department.</p>
<p>
	Nationally, 367 patients were on emergency department trolleys yesterday morning and another 102 patients were on trolleys on wards.</p>
<p>
	Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was worst hit with 42 on trolleys, while 30 were on trolleys in Cork University Hospital.</p>
<p>
	Following a meeting of the task force to relieve overcrowding, all hospitals have been told to carefully analyse bed stock and &quot;get sufficient numbers of staff in place to open beds over the next two months&quot;.</p>
<p>
	The aim is to open another 454 beds before the end of the year, including 300 new beds.</p>
<p>
	Although the delays in allocating a nursing home bed under the Fair Deal scheme have now been sorted, there is a shortage of nursing home places in some areas.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/nurses-in-worktorule-over-ae-overcrowding-31608735.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/nurses-in-worktorule-over-ae-overcrowding-31608735.html</a></p>
