INMO urges funding recommended in Slaintecare Report

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) are calling on the Government to commence funding the change programme recommended in the Sláintecare Report.

The recently-published report from the Oireachtas Future of Healthcare Committee calls for a 10-year transformational change programme, leading to a more accessible public health service.

In its pre-budget submission, the INMO also calls for measures, which require financial resources, to increase the capacity of the health service, in terms of staffing and beds.

It is also seeking a commitment of a 25 per cent increase in the nursing and midwifery workforce over the next five years. The union said this is necessary to allow the service begin to deal with the continuing record levels of hospital overcrowding and growing waiting lists for treatment and procedures.

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General secretary fesignate Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the pre-budget submission clearly identifies a number of steps that must be taken by the government to make the public health service more accessible.

“This budget provides the first opportunity, since the publication of the Sláintecare Report, for the government to demonstrate its acceptance of this critically important report.

“The budget provides an opportunity for the government to begin allocating resources required to make our public health service equitable, accessible and truly world class,” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

“The first step to expanding our public health service is to address the nursing/midwifery crisis, with regard to recruitment/retention which continues unabated.

“Therefore, the government must allocate funds to introduce improved pay and conditions to reflect the competitive international labour market for Irish nurses and midwives at this time,” she added.

It also calls for the reversal of the mass emigration of Irish-trained nurses and midwives to other countries.

The INMO is also seeking the recruitment and retention of all graduating nurses in tandem with the retention of all clinically-experienced nurses in the public health service. The union said it is hopeful that Budget 2018 will allow for increased investment in the provision of publically funded care for older persons services.