Psychiatric nurses serve notice of industrial action
Last year, the psychiatric hospital in north Dublin was ordered by the Mental Health Commission to cease all acute admissions by February 2011 — and then August 2011 — as the unit was unfit for purpose.
An agreement was made between the HSE and the PNA as to how this would progress, but the PNA says no alternative to has been provided — nor has the unit been refurbished.
According to the PNA, admissions are still taking place to the old unit which lies on the campus, but not in the old hospital building.
General secretary Des Kavanagh said: “There is still no proper facility for admission. The HSE spent €100,000 putting a new lift into the block for temporary admissions, but nothing has been done since. Admissions were supposed to end in February but they now have an extension until the end of August pending the building of a new unit in Beaumont.”
However, a planning application for the Beaumont unit has only just been granted and construction will not start at the end of the year. The transfer of services from St Ita’s to Beaumont has been mooted since the 1990s. Therefore, it was deemed a waste of money to invest in St Ita’s admission unit.
“There are 15 admissions a week to the unit at St Ita’s and we have about 37 patients at any one time. If it does close in August, where are these people going to go?” Mr Kavanagh asked, adding that it was unacceptable the HSE had not stuck to its side of the agreement.
“We concluded agreements and delivered on our side while the HSE walked away from its obligations. This is unacceptable and totally in breach of the requirements of the Croke Park Agreement.
“We are calling on [Health Minister] James Reilly, to intervene and instruct the HSE to adhere to their responsibilities and deliver on agreements reached. The minister cannot allow these irresponsible and uncaring managers to destroy our services.”
Mr Kavanagh said he had made the HSE, the Labour Relations Commission and the implementation body of the Croke Park Agreement aware of the situation but had heard nothing.
“We do not want to take strike action,” Mr Kavanagh said, “but we all knew it was “coming down the tracks.”
