The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said that patient safety is being affected by staffing shortfalls, and that significant numbers of nurses have considered leaving their workplaces due to high levels of stress.
A survey of the union’s members published at its annual conference has found that 92% believe patient safety is at risk.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said it is up to the Government and the Health Service Executive to bring about the changes or risk a collapse in the numbers of staff who are willing to work in Ireland, and catastrophic patient outcomes as a result.
She said INMO members cannot increase bed capacity or staffing quotas and that they have reached the end of what they themselves can do to improve the services.
The Department of Health said that, since 2020, the number of nurses and midwives has increased by over 9,600.
More than 350 delegates will debate over 50 motions during the INMO’s three-day annual conference, which is being held in Dublin’s Croke Park.
Among the motions are calls for safe nurse staffing numbers, measures to ensure trolley figures represent all of the patients waiting for admission to a bed and the HSE staff recruitment embargo.
Nurses and midwives are also calling for a zero-tolerance approach to violence and aggression towards staff and that the HSE pursue perpetrators.
A motion has also been tabled for a reduction in the working week from 37.5 to 35 hours.
Director of Nursing at Wexford General Hospital Eleanor Carpenter will give a presentation on the 2023 fire there and its aftermath.
The Emergency Department in Wexford was closed for several months after the fire on 1 March 2023.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is due to address the delegates on Friday morning.
