INMO accepts recruitment plans

Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have voted to accept proposals to deal with recruitment and retention issues in the health service.

INMO members voted by a margin of 82% to accept the proposals emerging from talks chaired by the Workplace Relations Commission. The union had recommended accepting the proposals that include increasing the nursing and midwifery workforce by 1,200 to more than 37,000 before the end of the year.

Other measures include offering all graduating nurses and midwives full-time contracts; increased incentives to attract nurses and midwives back from overseas, particularly Britain; and improved educational opportunities and career pathways.