INMO conference to call for review of staffing levels
Nurses are calling for a standard nationwide staffing level of one nurse for every four patients in mainstream hospital wards.
Over 350 nurses and midwives are gathering in Letterkenny, Co Donegal today for the INMO's three-day annual delegate conference.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran says high on the agenda today will be a motion to establish a fixed nurse-to-patient ratio in general hospital wards.
"It's necessary to have a minimum staffing level that is accepted nationwide because at the moment… there is simply no floor," he said.
"There is no situation where health management will view (staffing levels) as having gotten into dangerous territory.
"What we are saying is that in order to have a standard staffing regime there should be one nurse to four patients.
"That should be the norm running through ordinary general surgical wards."
The INMO also wants an independent expert to chair a review into current midwifery practice and then establish a guide for best practice and standards in the area.
"We do have a shortage of midwives," Mr Doran said.
"They are not being replaced as they leave. Our birth rate is the highest in Europe (and) we have units that are having 20-25% higher birth rates than they were designed for.
"What we are saying is… let's have an international expert come in, chair a staffing review (and) lay down the minimum standards that are required for best practice."
The organisation also wants the Labour Relations Commission to confirm that the Croke Park II proposals, having been rejected, are now redundant.
