Latest: Over 25,000 patients affected by strike asked not to reschedule appointments with hospitals
Patients who have had their medical appointments cancelled today are being urged not to make contact with hospitals to reschedule.
The HSE says it will be in touch with arrangements for over 25,000 people affected by the nurses strike.
37,000 INMO members will end their first day of industrial action over pay and working conditions at 8am tomorrow morning.
Health Minister Simon Harris has ruled out any special deal for them and says they must respect the public service pay agreement.
General Secretary of the INMO, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, says paying nurses more would lead to a better health service:
"When you invest in a proper salary scale, provide adequate numbers of nurses and midwives in work, we know it works, we know it completely stabilises the workforce in order to develop a service which is ulitimatley what we all want so that patients when they come to hospital or when they are sick, they have a service that is very safe and available.
"Unfortunately, today that isn't the case," she said.
Earlier: HSE 'concerned' about risk to patient safety as nurses strike continues
The HSE has said it is concerned about the risk to patient safety as the nurses strike continues across the country.
Significant delays are being experienced in emergency departments, and people are being urged to stay away.
Further disruption is expected tomorrow, as the health service gets back up and running following the action by 37,000 INMO members.
Teams from the HSE and the union are holding hourly meetings to try to limit the impact on patients.
HSE national director of acute operations, Liam Woods, said there is a greater risk to safety in our hospitals:
Clearly, the cancellations of some procedures and indeed some delegation for some areas that are still working normally have helped maintain a level of service and a level of public safety, but in reality without full staff confidence, we are concerned that there is a greater risk than would be normal in our hospitals and wider health environment.
"So the sooner we're back to full staffing as normal tomorrow morning, the better," he said.
Earlier: Government 'legally considering' pay sanctions on striking nurses
The government is 'legally considering' whether it can impose pay sanctions on striking nurses.
37,000 members of the INMO are holding the first of six days of industrial action today, in a dispute over wage increases and staffing shortages.
Patients are being urged to stay away from hospital emergency departments and to expect increased delays in admission.
Under legislation brought in last year, members of unions who breach the public service pay agreement by striking can face financial penalties such as frozen pay rises and increments.
Health Minister Simon Harris says sanctions will be considered: "You cannot lodge a cost-rising claim for the duration of the agreement and derive the benefits of the agreement.
"That is what the agreement says in essence.
"Seeking pay parity for your members at a cost of €3 million is by any count a cost-rising claim.
"In relation to the issue of sanctions, I don't think the government should be in that space today. The government isn't in that space today.
"The Department of Expenditure and Reform will legally consider that."
Taoiseach: We are willing to engage with nurses on dispute
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has rejected criticism in the Dáil this afternoon from opposition TDs, including Mary Lou McDonald, that the Government is not doing enough to resolve the nurses dispute.
Mr Varadkar said: "Deputy, I don't think you are a moron and I can assure you that I'm not a moron either, but if you keep asking me the same question, I will keep giving you the same answer.
"We have a mechanism under which we resolve industrial relation disputes, the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court. They are State bodies, Government bodies and we are happy and willing to engage through that process."
Trade union, Unite, has said that it has advised its members to "not engage in work ordinarily done by nurses.
In expressing their solidarity with striking nurses and midwives, Brendan Ogle said the union will fully support and stand with any members who decide, as a matter of personal conscience, not to pass official INMO pickets.
Mr Ogle, said: “No worker decides to take industrial action lightly. That the workers in dispute feel compelled to take such action speaks to the declining nature of our public health service and increasingly poor treatment of both staff and patients. Nurses and midwives deserve the solidarity of trade unionists, as they take action today, and Unite asks that its members do nothing to undermine their action”.
“Today’s dispute is symptomatic of a wider problem in our unequal society. Unless we bring down rampant costs through the provision of public housing and State-sponsored childcare, workers in a range of sectors will find themselves forced to take action to secure a decent standard of living, or – in the case of many young people who should be the future of our health service – they are forced to take employment elsewhere to secure their futures.
"An economy based on property price inflation and relatively poor pay increases will only result in continuing damage to our public health services”, Mr Ogle warned.
Earlier: Health system is 'broken and sick' and we are the cure, say nurses
The health system in Ireland is "broken and sick" and "we are the cure".
That is according to signs being held by nurses who are striking outside hospitals today, in a dispute with the government over pay and recruitment issues.
37,000 INMO members are on the picket line, leading to the cancellation of 25,000 medical appointments and reduced cover in emergency departments.
Nurses want a 12% pay increase to bring them in line with other graduate health professionals.
Health Minister Simon Harris has again insisted there cannot be any changes to current pay agreements.
Strike #nurses #midwives at #cumh #iestaff via @lensdan pic.twitter.com/2VCJHIKrab
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) January 30, 2019
Minister Harris says there are some things they can offer but not a direct pay rise.
"What I would say to patients is there is a willingness on the side of government and management to find a resolution but we have to operate within that space of not breaching the Public Service Stability Agreement because to do anything else would be grossly irresponsible," said Minister Harris.
"There is no consequence-free direct pay rise."
Sorcha Byrne, a nurse at Connolly Hospital in Dublin, is dismissing the comments: "There is money to pay the TDs, there is money to build children's hospitals that are overrun.
Basically, they have to prioritise what they think is important and obviously they don't think we are important.
INMO general secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, had this message for patients who have had appointments cancelled: "Nurses do not want to be on strike but it is a feature of our health services that cancellations now are the norm."
Five further days of strikes are planned by nurses over the next fortnight.
Striking is hungry work @IMO_IRL #StandWithNursesAndMidwives #iestaff via @cathshan pic.twitter.com/OmfyQICZEr
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) January 30, 2019
Consultant calls for speedy resolution as 37,000 nurses and midwives strike
Emergency medicine consultant Fergal Hickey is calling on both sides in the nurses strike to resume talks to find a speedy resolution, writes .
“Ultimately this dispute will be resolved, it would be better for that to happen sooner rather than later,” he told RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show.
Dr Hickey said he was very concerned at the prospect of multiple days of strikes in the coming weeks.
This morning there were only four patients in the emergency department at Sligo University Hospital, where he is based. Usually there would be 105-110 per day.
“We are coping at the moment. Between the snow and the strike it is taking longer for patients to get to us.”
He said it is worrying that some patients who should go to the emergency department were afraid to attend because of the strike.
For many conditions there is a clear treatment window and those patients should be in hospital.
Dr Hickey also expressed concern about attendance levels tomorrow when normal service resumes.
He said emergency department nurses did not want to be on the picket line, but he knew they were under “relentless pressure” because of the inability to recruit new nurses.
“We understand the need to do what they’re doing. But as the strike ramps up tempers will fray and difficulties will arise. I’m very fearful.
“I would ask both parties to reflect on the situation and set about trying to resolve it.”
'Enough is enough': 37,000 nurses and midwives take to picket line
37,000 nurses and midwives have taken to the picket line outside hospitals and HSE facilities.
They are demanding pay increases and government action on staff shortages.
Nurses and midwives standing strong at St James', the Rotunda and Beaumont in Dublin, St. Finbarr's Cork, MWRH Nenagh, and Portiuncula
— Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) January 30, 2019
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️#standwithnurses #standwithmidwiveshttps://t.co/ua8qW23Ea7 pic.twitter.com/1E7nmqUTnR
Margaret Frahill, Nurse Manager at Mercy Hospital, Cork, says that when students reach their fourth year in college they are already considering either leaving the country or leaving the profession.
She also says that more experienced nurses are leaving due to stress and burnout.
"The HSE aren't listening," said Ms Frahill.
"They know the salary doesn't relate to other countries. They know we're leaving in droves.
"Yet they are recruiting from abroad. They are spending €10,000 on a nurse to come in from abroad, from the Philipines or India."
Huge support for #StandWithNursesAndMidwives at the Mater pic.twitter.com/nRNezXhQvc
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) January 30, 2019
The HSE says it will not be a "normal day" for the service with 25,000 appointments cancelled.
People are also being advised to only attend emergency departments if it is essential.
"We have to do it. Enough is enough," said one of the nurses picketing outside Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown in Dublin.
"It's time that we got our safe conditions, our safe pay and patients and nurses are treated with respect and given fair care and we get the value and appreciation that nurses deserve."
Picketing begins at Connolly Hospital! #StandwithNurses #StandWithMidwives pic.twitter.com/qXM16o7rNL
— Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) January 30, 2019
37,000 nurses and midwives to mount largest strike in HSE history today
Nurses and midwives will mount the largest strike in the history of the health service this morning.
37,000 INMO members will take to the picket line outside hospitals and HSE facilities from 8am, demanding pay increases and government action on staff shortages.
Nurses and midwives will gather in cold conditions to demand pay increases of around 12% and for the HSE to sort out what they call a recruitment and retention crisis in nursing.
The government says wage hikes for nurses would open the floodgates for others to seek pay claims, and it will not be doing a special deal.
25,000 medical appointments have been cancelled and the HSE is appealing to people not to attend emergency departments unless absolutely necessary.
Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE, says delays in accessing services today are inevitable.
👊
— Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) January 29, 2019
Nurses and midwives are going on strike for only the second time in 100 years.
They are standing up for patients and fair pay.
If you're near a picket from 8am-4pm tomorrow, drop by and show your support.
Full list of pickets here https://t.co/zbPHTsvcyR pic.twitter.com/KUKj5oJqfq
"People may experience increased delays because other aspects of unscheduled care such as local injury units or acute medical assessment units will not be open," said Dr Henry.
Further strikes are planned for next week.
As the Labour Court says it cannot intervene in the dispute, it is up to the INMO and the HSE to resolve it.
