Extreme anger from midwives and nurses on the frontline with 'chronic overcrowding'
Nurses and midwives are considering industrial action after a unanimous vote by their trade union this afternoon.
Following a meeting by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), it voted to ballot its members in protest at their current working environment and the failure of management to recruit and retain nursing and midwifery staff.
After 12 regional meetings, individual members reported extreme anger from nurses and midwives on the frontline. The meetings were supplied with multiple examples of:
- chronic persistent overcrowding with no additional staff;
- excessive working hours (unpaid);
- repeated episodes of missed care, in acute, care of the elderly and disability services, with up to 30 patients being left under the sole care of third year students; and
- community services which are unable to fulfil statutory functions and are held together purely by nurses carrying excessive workloads and having to work extended unpaid additional hours.
Speaking this afternoon INMO President Martina Harkin-Kelly said:
“Our members have spoken and have clearly indicated they can no longer endure the working environment and will no longer accept having their professional judgement disrespected or ignored by management.Nursing and midwifery is in crisis and our health services are failing to meet the needs of patients. This action is absolutely necessary, and justified, in the interests of patients and our members. Accepted worldwide evidence demonstrates that patients are safest and mortality rates lower when there are sufficient nurses and midwives working in positive environments providing their care”.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said:
“The level of anger, within our membership, was palpable at the recent meetings. This action seeks to have government and management come forward with special initiatives that will attract and retain the required number of nurses and midwives to staff our service safely and expand it to meet ever increasing demand.In addition we will, in conjunction with our public service union colleagues, participate in early discussions, with government, which must deliver an acceleration in the restoration of pay and other conditions of employment which were cut in recent years”.