Delegates at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) conference have unanimously backed a call to hold a ballot on industrial action if substantial progress has not been made on staffing levels by September.
Union members heard multiple calls on Thursday for the Government to meet the INMO’s demand that safe staffing levels in hospitals be set down in law so that there can be greater certainty around their measurement and implementation.
Backing the emergency motion containing a call for industrial action, potentially up to a first national strike by the union’s roughly 42,000 members since 2019, Ann Judge from Sligo said everything seemed to be done to “delay, delay, delay the filling of vacancies”.
“It’s time the Government stepped up to the mark by underpinning staffing levels in legislation,” she said.
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Sarah Maher from Letterkenny branch said nurses were looking forward to September with “even greater anxiety as they believe Government and the HSE have not learned the lessons of the horrendous winter of 2022/23″.
After a string of speeches in favour, and none against, the motion mandating the union to hold a ballot on action in the middle of September unless “sufficient progress” has been made on the issue was passed without any opposition.
The vote came after the new HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster said the organisation would have a plan in place by the end of this month to better deal with emergency department (ED) overcrowding and waiting times this year, with a three-year plan to follow by the end of June.
However, he said he could not give a firm timeframe for when the problem of hospital overcrowding would be addressed.
Challenge throughout year
Mr Gloster confirmed that HSE would no longer introduce winter plans to cope during what were previously regarded periods of peak demand. “I think on the analysis of the activity in our hospitals now shows we’re challenged right throughout the year.”
He received a polite response from delegates as he confirmed an extra €25 million was being provided for nurse recruitment, as announced by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly on Wednesday. He also said nursing and midwifery services director Dr Geraldine Shaw would join the HSE’s senior leadership team.
Afterwards, Mr Gloster said additional resources for the training of new nurses would be announced by Mr Donnelly when he addresses the conference on Friday.
A survey of INMO intern members published on Thursday found 73 per cent were considering emigrating after they qualified. A majority of those said they would consider delaying any move for at least a year in the event they were guaranteed permanent jobs. Mr Gloster said being able to do this in an area of the nurse’s choice is currently the aim.
He declined to make predictions about what improvements people might expect in terms of overcrowding and waiting times in hospitals over the coming 12 months. He said measures to free up beds in acute hospitals by providing better pathways to discharge patients would contribute to addressing the crisis.
Pressed on the extent to which the situation of hundreds of people finding themselves on trolleys in hospitals daily could be eased, he said: “I think we’re some way off from predicting the exact figures.
Best laid predictions
“We’ve seen what different surges can do. The best laid predictions of last winter just didn’t countenance the early onset of flu with a very, very significant presence of RSV and the tail end of Covid. So it’s very difficult to predict exact types of numbers,” he said.
“We are going to see pressure in our hospitals and right across our health services, which crystallise in emergency departments. We’re going to see that for some time to come. But I do certainly believe there’s a lot available to us that can make that experience for the patients, the public and the staff an awful lot better than this has been.”
INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha welcomed the announcement on nurse recruitment but said clarification was required on whether it was intended that the additional recruits would be used to address existing staff shortages or facilitate the opening of more beds.
She said substantial investment is required in hospitals to improve safety for patients and staff and that the union hopes to meet Mr Gloster and Mr Donnelly on the issue.
“As for the circus of the winter plan, it’s a good that it’s gone,” she added.
