Nurses at University Hospital Limerick will begin industrial action in the form of work-to-rule this morning.
Staffing in the ICU at Limerick is currently operating at a 22% deficit.
The Nurses Union INMO says the lack of safe staffing is having a detrimental impact on the well-being of its members.
It said: “In order to make staffing safe in UHL ICU and ensure that patients are getting the one-to-one care that is expected in an intensive care unit, the INMO is calling on the hospital management to temporarily close two beds in the ICU pending the recruitment of suitably qualified and experienced ICU nurses.
"Unlike other hospitals experiencing similar nursing deficits, management in Limerick have been unwilling to do this thus far."
