Psychiatric nurses have decided to escalate their industrial action with a ban on nurses being redeployed from community facilities to assist in hospital psychiatric services.
The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the Psychiatric Nurses Association and SIPTU, which represents 7,000 nurses.
Des Kavanagh, General Secretary of the PNA, said nurses regretted the impact the action would have on services.
Both unions say they will accept an invitation from health service employers to a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the dispute but they say it is not a forum for negotiations.
The industrial action centres on the pursuit of a better compensation scheme for nurses assaulted at work.
