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.

One nurse, who contacted the Gerry Ryan Show yesterday, said: “We often stay an extra half-hour and often we’re so busy we don’t take breaks. We’re under huge strain.”

Another said: “Do you really think that this would be allowed happen in any profession? Do you think any profession would tolerate such work practices? It makes me feel sick when I hear this. It is a lie that such practices are the norm.”

Representatives from the Irish Nursing Organisation (INO) are due to meet with SIPTU, the other union representing nurses, on Tuesday. They will meet the HSE on Wednesday.

INO industrial relations officer Mary Fogarty warned nurses were very angry.

“Morale has been low for the past couple of years. Now, it has sunk even lower,” she said.

Ms Fogarty said management are not happy with a roster agreed with theatre nurses 10 to 15 years ago and are trying to change it outside normal negotiation practice. She said nurses also have issues with the roster.

Hospital management said they have been trying to sort out this issue for nearly five years and claimed scores of nurses engaged in “irregular practices”.