Nurse shortage creating ‘very serious’ problems at hospital
The Irish Nurses Organisation’s (INO) industrial relations officer, Michael Dineen, said that if a similar situation existed in a Dublin hospital, nurses would probably have taken industrial action by now.
“But, because of their commitment to their patients and loyalty to the hospital, nurses in Tralee are coming in on days off, at weekends and during leave to provide cover,” he said.
“These nurses are working flat out and are exhausted. They are being challenged, at this stage, to provide an appropriate and adequate level of care.”
The Health Service Executive (HSE) Southern Area acknowledged there was a problem, and is to review staffing in the hospital. However, a HSE spokesman said there was a full complement of whole-time staff in Tralee, in line with funding levels.
“Following a meeting with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) between the INO and hospital management, it was agreed that management would re-engage with the unions on staffing levels,” he added.
The Brady Report, which reviewed staffing in 2001, found that numbers in Tralee were insufficient, but its deliberations were never implemented, according to Mr Dineen.
He said locum cover was a big issue, with a minimum of 50 vacancies for general nurses at present.
“It’s accepted that you need 25% more than the basic complement of nursing staff to provide for locum purposes. Tralee has 408 nurses, but only 19 locum posts, which is totally insufficient,” he said.
“A very, very serious situation now exists. We’ve been looking for a curtailment of services, but management will not agree to this. We’re also looking for the employment of agency nurses and the HSE is to come back to us in two weeks,” he said.
The HSE and the INO are due to reconvene for talks under the LRC in October. Terms of reference for a staff review will be decided then.
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