Hospital beds face closure while some community services could be restricted – if nurses and midwives back industrial action in a forthcoming ballot.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is to ballot its 37,000 members for industrial action in protest over their working conditions and staffing levels.
The INMO is also to seek an acceleration of pay restoration.
The planned campaign of industrial action by nurses, if backed in the ballot, would initially involve a work-to-rule and subsequently a series of one-day stoppages.
The INMO, which announced the move on Tuesday, is seeking the introduction of new incentives to recruit and retain nurses and midwives and to secure adequate staffing levels.
The union's general secretary Liam Doran said if the ballot was carried, the initial work-to-rule would involve matching the level of services on offer to the number of staff available.
Ignored by management
He said this could involve nurses taking control of their working environment by taking beds out of the hospital system or curtailing community services.
The INMO ballot will start on November 24th and end on December 15th.
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.”
Mr Doran said the move was aimed at encouraging the Government and health service management to come forward with special initiatives that would attract and retain the required number of nurses and midwives to staff services safely and expand them to meet the ever-increasing demand.
The INMO did not specify the level of financial incentives which it would be seeking.
However, asked whether it could be along the lines of the payments of up to €6,000 being offered by some private hospitals to nurses, Mr Doran said: “Absolutely. There are a range of incentives required. And it is not just about recruiting staff. It is about retaining existing staff as well.”
It is understood one option the nursing union would like to see examined would be faster movement along the incremental scale which formed part of a recent deal involving staff at the office of the Chief State Solicitor.
Challenges
Minister for Health Simon Harris said he was very well aware of the challenges with recruiting staff nurses and nurses with specialist skills in specific areas.
"We are competing with all other western countries to attract and retain nurses in specific areas. The HSE continue to implement schemes and programmes to attract nurses back to Ireland and I have made it clear that I want a major focus on driving these programmes and getting results.
“I look forward to meeting with the INMO next week as part of my ongoing engagement with them on important issues relating to the health service.
“I was pleased recently to be able to restore the incremental credit for over 4,000 nurses who graduated between 2011 and 2015, adding over €1,000 to their salaries. In addition nurses now get paid extra for taking on some duties from doctors.”
