Nurses refuse to occupy 'unsafe' new emergency department at University Hospital Limerick

INMO Regional Industrial Relations Officer Mary Fogarty announced this evening that nurses will not be occupying the new emergency department in circumstances where they felt conditions would be "unsafe".

Today, senior management accepted those concerns and a range of actions have been agreed to in order to ensure safer care.

These actions include:

• The immediate appointment of a clinical skills facilitator to ensure adequate senior nursing staff support for newly qualified and junior nurses.
• A commitment to immediately address issues which arose during the simulated opening of the new department relating to CT diagnostic scans. There is now in place a risk assessment and associated action plan to address serious concerns pending availability of a new emergency department CT scanner in three weeks.
• Management have also committed to roster adequate numbers of staff to care for admitted patients in the emergency department and while progress was made on this issue the HSE will be required to engage directly with the INMO over the coming weeks and months to ensure safety in the context of chronic overcrowding.

Mary Fogarty, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, said: “ Through the collective action of INMO members improvements have been made which will provide safer care in the new emergency department.

"Our members recognise that this is a superb facility, they are committed to delivering high quality care, and the threatened action which is now averted was necessary to force management into recognising serious safety concerns. INMO members are satisfied that arising from today’s meeting management are committed to addressing the issues of concern and this will now facilitate the opening of the new department at UL.”