Nursing union calls for better pay and hours
The Government needs to improve job conditions for nurses and midwives to stop them fleeing the profession, it was claimed today.
Up to 3,000 trained nurses left Ireland last year, according to the Irish Nurses Organisation.
And the union said another 10,000 nurses are registered but not practising because of poor pay and conditions.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said today: “We need radical initiatives to improve pay and conditions, which will stop this haemorrhage of highly motivated and dedicated Irish nurses and midwives.”
Mr Doran has asked the new Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney for an urgent meeting to discuss the crisis.
He accused health employers of being “in denial” over low staffing levels and must improve pay and reduce working hours.
The INO has also called for extra allowances for nurses in Dublin and those who are working unsociable hours.
Our Lady’s Hospital in Crumlin was last week forced to send home two children who were scheduled for heart surgery due to a shortage of intensive care nurses.
Last year, two-year-old Roisin Ruddle died after being sent home from the Dublin hospital when her heart surgery was cancelled.
A shortage of intensive care staff was also blamed for this cancellation.
