Industrial action at University Hospital Galway (UHG) has been deferred pending implementation of an agreement for the facility to secure additional nurses and support staff cover.

SIPTU Organiser Mark Lohan said: “This decision, following Labour Relations Commission facilitated talks between union representatives and the hospital management, vindicates our position that having so many patients on trolleys, both in the Emergency Department and on the wards, is totally unacceptable.

He added: “The Emergency Department is still under significant pressure but in taking this stand, and getting this commitment from management, SIPTU members in UHG have played a vital role in protecting patient safety for all the residents of the west of Ireland that need to use our public hospital.”

SIPTU UHG shop steward, Ann Burke, said: “SIPTU members have got this result because they made the collective decision to stand up for patients.  

"We had the courage to take a stand for what we knew to be right and have now been successful in improving our workplace and protecting our patients."