Nurses attack HSE over work claims

NURSES have hit back at the Health Service Executive (HSE) to defend their colleagues after the HSE issued a statement accusing them of preventing up to 1,800 operations taking place through their “irregular” work practices.

Irate nurses from the Midlands and Mid-West said they were being used as “scapegoats” and “morale was at an all-time low”. The INO said “conflict and friction” were long-standing features of relations between management and theatre nursing at Limerick Regional Hospital.

In an earlier statement, the HSE said nursing staff were starting half-an-hour late, taking unofficial breaks and finishing half-an-hour early. Such practices were costing the Mid-Western Health Board up to €530,000 a year.