Nurses to stage third day of action

NURSES in Limerick are set to take part in a third day of industrial action over concerns the facility’s emergency department is a danger to the public’s safety.

The Siptu-organised move, which will take place between 8.30am and 12.30pm on Tuesday, follows a similar work stoppage yesterday and last Wednesday at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.

Mid-western nursing organiser Jim McGrath said the continuation of the industrial action was needed in order to force management to address under-funding, overcrowding a staff shortages at the emergency unit.

While the second work stoppage at the facility, which took place yesterday, was criticised by HSE management and led to Taoiseach Enda Kenny raising his concerns, it was supported by other health workers. In particular, nurses in Galway and Cork said they stood beside their colleagues in Limerick.

HSE management has told the nursing unions there is no more money to bring in extra staff and open up more beds.

The hospital budget was already overrun by €14 million during the first half of the year.

However, figures published by the Irish Examiner in recent months strongly indicate that this overrun has in fact been caused by a surge in spending on overtime and agency workers to cover staff gaps linked to the recruitment ban.

The lack of staff has been repeatedly raised by nurses as an issue they believe is potentially putting patients’ safety at risk.

Up to 100 acute beds have also been taken out of use since a reconfiguration programme of hospital services began two years ago. A total of 25 of these beds are at the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick.

Acute cases previously dealt with at Ennis and Nenagh general hospitals are also now cared for at the Limerick facility.

Talks had taken place at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to try and avert yesterday’s action.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) representative Mary Fogarty said the HSE had acknowledged the sincerity of its members. Speaking last night, the HSE Mid-West’s area manager, Bernard Gloster, repeated management’s concerns that the industrial action was itself potentially putting patients in danger of sub-standard treatment.