Patients suffering from dispute, says Harney
Minister for Health Mary Harney today maintained the nurses' dispute will only be resolved if unions adhere to the state’s industrial procedures.
“It’s a great pity the nurses have taken this action,” she said. “Of course the only people that would be adversely affected are the patients.”
Ms Harney is today discussing possible contingency plans with the Health Service Executive’s Prof Brendan Drumm and chairman Liam Downey. However, she denied that they were planning for an all-out strike.
Ms Harney claimed the nurses were not just looking for a 10% rise, but a 32% rise when social partnership, benchmarking and a cut in hours were taken into account.
She stressed that over the last number of years nurses in Ireland have seen their pay and conditions greatly improve, but added they could not be treated any differently than any other public servant.
Although both parties have agreed that nurses should work a 35-hour week, they could not agree on the timescale on when that could be achieved.
The HSE argues that a reduction from 39 hours will equate to 7.7 million hours being taken out of the system, with each individual nurse working 30 days less per year, and maintain it would be irresponsible to move forward without carrying out a risk assessment.
However, the INO argues its members have been working 30 more days than any other health care professional, despite a Labour Court recommendation 27 years ago for a 35-hour working week.
INO deputy general secretary David Hughes said the action showed the reliance of the health service on nurses carrying out jobs that are not nursing duties.
“All nurses today are at work and all nursing care is being provided,” he said.
“We don’t intend moving to an all out strike, that would certainly be the absolute last resort, but we certainly are considering short stoppages on a rolling basis throughout the country.
“The work to rule will continue now until this dispute is resolved. It’s an indefinite work to rule and it will only cease when we get a resolution.”
An incident room has been set up by the HSE to assess the situation in hospitals all over the country and respond to emergencies which may arise.
The HSE’s Gerry O’Dwyer said delays have already been reported in outpatients, while a slowdown in discharging patients had led to congestion in emergency departments.
He added the nurse’s refusal to deal with telephones is causing difficulties within medical and clinical teams and for families concerned about a patient.
“Unfortunately patients and the public are the innocent bystanders, in my view, in this unnecessary action,” said Mr O’Dwyer.
“There is a way of dealing with this through the partnership process.
“I would appeal to the INO and PNA to get back in to talks. This is not necessary.”
Labour Party health spokeswoman and deputy leader Liz McManus said the dispute was of such potential seriousness that it would justify the direct involvement of the Taoiseach and urged both sides in the dispute to return to the negotiating table and to “make one more effort to find a solution”.
Sinn Féin’s Coimhghin O Caolain added: “Nurses and midwives are at the frontline of our health services, delivering care to patients in very difficult circumstances because of the gross inadequacy of a health system that successive governments have failed to reform. It is an indictment of that system that these frontline workers should have to resort to a work to rule.”
