A compensation scheme being set up by the State for psychiatric nurses who are injured in the course of their work, was dismissed as "yellow pack in the extreme" by one nursing union last night.
Séamus Murphy, of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, said while he welcomed the introduction of a no-fault compensation scheme, the plan as proposed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health would pay nurses less than 20 per cent of the compensation they would get for similar injures from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
He claimed that, for example, under the HSE scheme, nurses would get €3,000 for a broken nose, compared to up to €20,000 from the PIAB. "If a nurse was stabbed and sustained near-death injuries similar to the consultant in Limerick last week, she would receive €3,000 . . . it is an insult to nurses and the nursing profession," he said.
Mr Murphy also claimed the terms of the scheme, which came into effect this week, were in breach of Labour Court recommendations as they did not include specific compensation for psychological trauma and there was no plan for dealing with outstanding cases.
Siptu's national nursing official, Louise O'Reilly, said the terms of the compensation scheme fell far short of what was expected and would add to nurses' frustration.
The Department of Health said the role of the PIAB was significantly different from the insurance-based scheme in place. "The Minister gave no commitment to apply the quantum under the PIAB to this new scheme; nonetheless, the Minister and the Government fully acknowledge the valuable contribution of nurses to the well-being of patients suffering from mental illness and have introduced a scheme in response to the Labour Court recommendation and subsequent clarifications," it said.
Some 1,257 attacks on psychiatric nurses were reported in 2005 alone.