Nurses in the Day Care Unit at Tallaght Hospital will hold a lunchtime work stoppage today in protest at what they claim is the misuse of the unit.
The protest will he held at the hospital from 12.30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
According to the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO), hospital management is using a contingency plan to ease pressure on the accident and emergency department as an excuse to keep 12 patients indefinitely on trolleys in the Day Care Unit.
As a result, efficiency at the unit has halved and some patients have had planned procedures cancelled up to four times in six months due to accident and emergency admissions being in the unit, the INO claims.
Management at the hospital said a work-to-rule had followed the introduction of the contingency plan and that agreed industrial relations protocols were not followed.
The hospital board also said it was currently awaiting a Labour Court hearing and that industrial action was normally suspended until after this type of hearing.
The hospital admitted that there would be restrictions on services available in the day ward over the next few days. If patients whose appointments have been changed will be contacted by the hospital.
In January this year, Tallaght was one of a number of hospitals forced to ask the public to stay away from its accident and emergency department unless seriously ill or injured due to serious overcrowding.
The hospital is facing a €13 million deficit this year unless limited cuts in services and spending are made.
