Staff cap must be lifted to improve services, say nurses

SENIOR nurses have called for the lifting of the cap on nursing staff imposed by the Government almost two years ago and only adjusted minimally since.

Irish Association of Directors of Nursing and Midwifery (IADNAM) president Geraldine Regan said the cap was a very blunt instrument.

“It reduces patient care and is counter-productive because it requires hiring agency nurses to plug the inevitable gaps that develop in services,” Ms Regan told delegates at IADNAM’s centenary conference in Tullamore, Co Offaly, yesterday.