The HSE has said Thursday's strike by support staff at 38 hospitals and healthcare facilities will have a "significant impact" on services.
Talks aimed at preventing the strike action broke down at the Workplace Relations Commission last night.
In a statement this afternoon, the HSE said it had begun contingency planning with the SIPTU trade union in an bid to ensure minimum disruption to patient services.
It said this was aimed at ensuring "patient dignity and that essential daily care remains in place."
"While every effort will be made to minimise impact on patients, industrial action involving these essential staff will have a significant impact on services," it said.
Patients will be informed if a scheduled procedure or service will be affected by the dispute.
Dispute
SIPTU has said its members underwent an independent job evaluation procedure under the Public Service Pay Agreement – which found that they are underpaid and should be shifted to a higher band.
It said the Government had previously agreed to honour the outcome of the evaluation but had since been 'stonewalling' workers, forcing them to take industrial action.
"A claim by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to the effect that there was no commitment to pay additional money on foot of the job evaluation scheme is patently inaccurate." #ourSIPTU #PayJustice
— SIPTU (@SIPTU) June 17, 2019
"The health employers accepted the recommendations of the job evaluation scheme in 2017 which set out which staff members should be upgraded and remunerated accordingly.” #ourSIPTU #PayJustice
— SIPTU (@SIPTU) June 17, 2019
On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Stephen McMahon, CEO of the Irish Patients Association, warned that patients should not be used as pawns in any industrial dispute.
"Our sympathies are with the patients that are going to be affected by this," he said.
"At the end of the day, these industrial disputes get sorted out one way or the other and we don't believe that patients should have to bear the brunt of this.
"There is a responsibility on the Minister and indeed the Government to ensure that this issue is resolved."
Skilled workers
The 10,000 workers involved include health care assistants, lab aids, hospital theatre workers, porters, cleaners and industry chefs.
Mr McMahon said a lot of skilled professionals will be withdrawing their labour on Tuesday.
"To be fair to health care assistants, about ten years ago these roles were sort of, you would come in on a Monday and you would be looking after portering, on a Tuesday you would be doing catering and on a Wednesday you might be doing cleaning and so on," he said.
"But these roles were segmented and have been supported by additional studies and qualifications so that people are skilled in the work that they are actually dong."
The HSE said efforts to avoid the strike are continuing and insisted that it remains committed to early resolution of the dispute, "given the number of staffing groups involved, and the direct impact on our patients in our acute and community services."
