The Health and Safety Authority says it is monitoring the situation in Galway Hospice, following the complaint of bullying lodged by 22 nurses at the unit against its clinical director.
An initial report conducted by the authority into the complaint has been forwarded to the Health Service Executive (Western) Area and the Galway Hospice Foundation, with recommendations for further action.
In a separate development HSE headquarters has confirmed its own official is investigating allegations of bullying and is due to report back to its acting chief executive officer Kevin Kelly.
The HSE (Western) Area would make no comment yesterday, beyond stating that its own report into previous bullying allegations was "still being written".
Several of these allegations relate to incidents which are said to have occurred at Galway Hospice and in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, more than three years ago.
However, in its first public criticism of the HSE, the Galway Hospice board yesterday expressed its frustration at its lack of action in addressing "long-standing interpersonal difficulties" between the hospice's clinical director/ consultant in palliative medicine and current and former staff at the hospice.
The hospice board confirmed that it had asked Minister for Health Mary Harney to intervene to restore a consultant-led service at the hospice and to "ensure that independent processes are quickly established to resolve the long-standing interpersonal difficulties that have hindered the development of Galway Hospice for far too long".
Referring to the bullying complaint lodged by 22 of its nurses last month, the hospice said that on legal advice it had asked the HSE "to reassign the consultant pending the completion of an investigation into the allegations".
It had also asked the HSE to provide alternative consultant-led services in the interim.
"The withdrawal of the consultant and her team, which was completed last Friday, April 15th, 2005, has resulted in a gradual reduction in in-patients and an absence of new referrals to the hospice," the board said.
It was now providing GP-led care, led by a doctor with extensive training and experience in palliative care, on an interim basis.
The hospice has three patients, while the home-care team is looking after almost 120 patients under revised arrangements notified to GPs by the HSE last week.
These include the establishment of an outpatient service by the hospice's clinical director at Merlin Park Regional Hospital.
The Irish Nurses Organisation has said it is delighted at the hospice board's statement and has called for a speedy investigation into the new bullying complaints.
A spokesman for the Minister for Health said Ms Harney was "aware" of the situation in Galway, which was being dealt "in the first instance" by the HSE (Western) Area. "If further action is required, it will be referred to the HSE board," the spokesman said.