Nurses at Naas General Hospital in Co Kildare are set to take industrial action in a dispute over what their union described as unsafe staffing levels at the hospital.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) on Monday served notice of the action, which is to start on February 9th, saying the decision to ballot for it “reflects the deep frustration, exhaustion, and burnout among nursing staff who have continued to deliver high-quality care despite ongoing and unresolved staffing crises”.
The union says neither staff nor bed numbers have increased at the pace required to cope with substantially greater numbers of presentations at the hospital’s emergency department and that occupancy levels regarded as the safe maximum are being breached on a daily basis.
“Current staffing levels across multiple clinical areas are unsafe, unsustainable, and non-compliant with professional standards,” said INMO industrial relations officer, Karen McCann.
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“The ongoing reliance on agency, overtime, and redeployment places both patient safety and staff wellbeing at significant risk.”
She said the current staff shortages have been exacerbated by the hospital’s failure to replace eight emergency department staff on maternity leave or unpaid leave.
“Despite repeated efforts to highlight these clinical risk concerns, no substantive action has been taken to address the unsafe staffing levels currently impacting patient safety, staff wellbeing, and compliance with agreed safe staffing frameworks,” she said.
The regional HSE management was approached for comment.
A scheduled meeting at the Workplace Relations Commission between the national management and unions representing health working, including the INMO, had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed. The INMO said it was waiting on a new date to be finalised.
