60 Southdoc nurses put on protective notice

SIXTY nurses who provide back-up to a GP out-of-hours service have been put on protective notice in a row over proposals to reduce posts and pay.

Southdoc, which operates in Cork and Kerry, is proposing to make 22 nurses redundant at a number of its 22 treatment centres. It is also seeking to impose a 15% pay cut on remaining nursing staff.

The punitive action is on foot of a 5% cut in health service funding to the GP co-op, according to its medical director Dr Gary Stack.

However, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) said the action “could only be interpreted as seeking to victimise nurses for attempting to preserve their jobs and terms and conditions of employment”.

INO industrial relations official Michael Dineen said the manner in which the matter had been dealt with by the company showed “scant regard for the consequences of their actions or the well being of our members”.

He said they had acted in a manner “ in breach of the Redundancy Payments Act”.

“It is ironic that the protective notice has only issued to nurses despite the fact that there are significantly larger numbers of non-nursing grades employed by the company who have not been subject to the same measures,” Mr Dineen said.

Yesterday, Dr Stack said he had “nothing to add”.

“Basically, the negotiations are ongoing,” he said.

Dr Stack has previously said that a reduction of nurses numbers in Southdoc would not impact on patient care, that it would simply mean more work for the GPs.

The INO believes reducing staff will affect patient care.

The HSE funds Southdoc with the exception of the red-eye shift.