Industrial action by nurses at a long-stay unit for elderly people in Longford is now causing serious concern for the families of residents in the unit, the Midland Health Board said yesterday.
The dispute, which enters its 44th day today, is over what the nurses claim are inadequate staffing levels, intolerable working conditions and "basic human rights" for their patients.
They complain of a lack of showering facilities and even of a lack of stimulation for patients, something which has been rejected by the health board.
Furthermore, the nurses say they cannot understand why these conditions are being allowed to continue when a state- of-the-art care of the elderly facility not far away in Birr was under lock and key for the last year due to lack of funding for equipment and staff.
The health board says it has applied to the Department of Health for funding to open the unit.
The protest at St Joseph's hospital began with a work to rule on May 27th, followed by several lunchtime protests at the gates of the centre last month. The action was stepped up on June 16th when the nurses decided not to accept elective admissions to the unit, with the exception of respite patients and palliative care patients.
Since then they have also refused to readmit to the centre patients who were taken to Mullingar hospital for treatment and are now ready to go back to St Joseph's. This, the health board, says, has resulted in up to nine acute beds being needlessly occupied at Mullingar hospital and has caused inconvenience for family members of the patients who have to travel to Mullingar rather than Longford to visit them.
"Families are getting concerned," a spokeswoman said.
St Joseph's, which has 180 beds, also has a GP casualty unit and since June 30th the nurses, in a further escalation of their action, began referring all routine dressings requested of the unit back to GP surgeries.
Last night the health board again urged the Irish Nurses Organisation to defer its action and allow the dispute to be referred to the Labour Relations Commission or Labour Court.
It stressed staffing levels at St Joseph's had increased by 40 per cent over the last three years.
Mr Kevin O'Connor, INO industrial relations officer, said the health board wanted the nurses to call off their action while an independent review of staffing levels was carried out.
He said the review was dependant on funding being provided and there were no guarantees about this, given the current economic climate.
However, he acknowledged that some progress has been made in discussions with the health board since the dispute began.
An annual leave schedule had been agreed and an independent facilitator from the National Partnership Forum would be appointed to facilitate communication between the hospital's director of nursing and staff nurses.
Mr O'Connor insisted the action of the nurses was in the interests of patients.