Nurses’ fury over promised consultant for casualty department

FURTHER industrial unrest is now brewing at a general hospital which was faced with the threat of losing its casualty service.

Eleventh hour intervention by staff saved Wexford General Hospital's accident and emergency department from closure from Monday next. They cancelled leave, long-fingered holidays and agreed to work longer hours to keep the unit open after two junior doctors resigned.

But now nurses in the hospital who are members of SIPTU and work in the same casualty department are up in arms that a consultant promised in January still has not been appointed.

Spokesperson Pat Cody said the situation at Wexford is far from perfect even though the service has been saved because staff pulled together.

"The A&E department is far too small. It is inadequate and the situation there is fast becoming intolerable.

"What we are most concerned about is that there is a total lack of privacy for gynaecological admissions, paediatric admissions and other general admissions and problem cases which come into our busy accident and emergency department."

Their colleagues in the Irish Nurses Organisation are also embroiled in a row with the South Eastern Health Board over the number of midwives employed in the maternity section of the hospital. They say the situation is dangerous for mothers and babies.