No deal in maternity unit row

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) and Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) talked late into the night last night to try to find a resolution to the staffing row which threatens the opening of the new maternity hospital in Cork.

At time of going to press, both sides had still not reached any agreement on staffing levels despite being in talks since noon.

The €75 million hospital is due to open on Saturday and yesterday Health Minister Mary Harney said the INO cannot justify leaving the facility idle.

The ongoing battle is over student midwives.

Yesterday, the Labour Court issued a clarification to the INO in which it said student midwives, who are qualified nurses, would be included in the complement of 375 midwives and nurses which it recommended for the opening of the hospital.

64 student midwives are part of the HSE staffing structure, in addition to 304 qualified midwives and seven nursery nurses.

The INO has argued there cannot be 64 students deputising for qualified midwives under whose direct supervision they are employed and it has approached An Bord Altranais for guidance.

It has said INO members will continue to work from the existing St Finbarr’s and Erinville hospitals until its concerns over staffing at Cork University Maternity Hospital are addressed.

However, the HSE has insisted that all staff have been rostered to work at the hospital from Saturday and said some staff had been rostered to work there from yesterday in preparation for the opening and they did work.

The INO has said it will not ballot its members on the Labour Court recommendation until the row over staffing is resolved.