The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) began balloting its members for industrial action on 14 October over the HSE’s “baseless recruitment moratorium” and its impact on staffing. The embargo has resulted in more than 2,000 vacancies across the health service, which “has led to further levels of unsafe staffing” across all sectors, and “is having a detrimental impact on patient care”, according to the Association and its members.
Commenting prior to balloting, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Over 2,000 much-needed nursing and midwifery posts have now been effectively abolished by the HSE. This means the safety of our members at work is severely compromised and their ability to provide safe, appropriate, and timely care is not possible. The INMO Executive Council, made up of working nurses and midwives, have considered every possible option, but feel strongly that the only response is a strong collective one from members, and that this response must be an industrial relations response.
“In continuing their moratorium through extremely limiting recruitment caps, the HSE have gone too far and are imposing restrictions so severe, broken staffing agreements, and disregarded the working conditions you now are expected to provide care in. As safety critical professionals, we cannot tolerate this impact on patient and staff safety any longer.”
At a recent meeting held at the Richmond Education Centre in Dublin on Saturday 12 October, examples of short staffing and very high-risk situations now arising due to the HSE’s de facto recruitment ban were set out by INMO representatives from all over Ireland. INMO President Caroline Gourley said that members provided “example after example” of unfilled posts and described how this impacted care provision.
Many nursing posts in cancer, palliative, paediatric, and rehab care are being left vacant, which in turn is leading to increasing demands from HSE management on staff to work on days off, stay on for significant unpaid periods after a rostered shift ends, and deal with increasing levels of frustration from the public who are waiting longer for services. The Organisation says that “for too long the goodwill of nurses and midwives has been taken for granted”, and that the ongoing situation is “a step too far”, which will not be tolerated any longer.
Ms Gourley added: “The expectation of the HSE is that nurses and midwives will work beyond their shift end time, volunteer for additional shifts on days off, and that this ‘good will’ is expected to continue over this winter. INMO representatives have now made it very clear that will not be the case. The HSE have designed a laborious, time-wasting process of application for safety-critical posts under the Pay and Numbers Strategy, which is designed to prolong the recruitment process. We are now seeing instances where it is taking up to 12 months to recruit much-needed nurses and midwives into vacant posts. This has had a hugely negative impact on nursing and midwifery.”
