Nurses claim they are buckling up under the strain of staff shortages at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Nurses on Cooper Ward have been offered stress counselling, with the workers claiming they need more staff to help cope with the extra workload.

But officials at the hospital have dismissed claims of staff shortages and of nurses struggling under the pressure. They say there is little truth in what the nurses are asserting.

Sources claim that they are so short-staffed -- several down -- that they're all cracking up.

One hospital staff member said: "It's not counselling they need -- it's a few more nurses.'' But a hospital spokesman said that Cooper Ward had just two people off sick, one with a long term illness, at present.

She said the EAP was being used for team building and stress counselling services, but could have also been called in for the workers' own requirements.

"There are not serious shortages in staff,'' she said. "I wouldn't say nurses are cracking up, that may be almost offensive since it implies there is something wrong.'' The KEMH EAP counsellor is due to meet with staff and programmes will then be initiated.

Attendance will not be compulsory.

There has been a gradual erosion of morale at the hospital in recent months and many blame the implementation of a new management structure.

The latest claims come in a wake of series of disputes to hit KEMH, including the re-structuring of management posts over a period of time, which many claimed left departments under-staffed and threatened nursing care.

Reports that a settlement had been reached between the Bermuda Hospitals Board and four displaced nursing supervisors at the hospital have been dismissed as "speculation''.

The nurses are seeking a redundancy deal after losing their posts in a management shake-up.

A VSB television news broadcast said an unnamed source had confirmed that an agreement had now been reached by the two parties.

But a hospital spokeswoman later denied the report, adding that no VSB reporter had been in contact with either the BHB or the Bermuda Public Services Commission.

"Negotiations are ongoing and, when any agreement is reached a joint statement from both parties will be issued,'' the spokeswoman said. "Until that time any report in the media is speculation.''