Maternity hospital staffing row heads for LRC

The row over staffing levels at the new €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) between hospital management and the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) will go before the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) this week.

While management is insisting that the new purpose-built facility will open at noon on March 24th, up to 300 INO midwives are threatening to boycott the new hospital over staffing levels.

The LRC will hear from both sides in the matter tomorrow and the INO has warned that it will seek a full hearing at the Labour Court if no satisfactory progress is made.

The opening of the 144-bed hospital at CUMH will see the amalgamation of maternity services from Erinville, St Finbarr's and Bons Secours hospitals to one site.

However, the INO claims the midwife staffing levels proposed for the new facility by the HSE will not allow for a safe level of services in a unit of its size.

The unit is to be staffed with 375 nursing posts, including 64 student midwives (who, the HSE points out, are already qualified nurses) and in the region of 304 midwives.

INO industrial relations officer Patsy Doyle explained: "Our main concern and argument here is about staff numbers. An independent expert report found that 383 trained midwives are needed for every 7,000 births. The HSE figures include 65 students. There were 7,970 deliveries last year between the three hospitals in Cork."

Barry O'Brien, assistant national director of human resources for HSE South, said that while the figure of 383 midwives may be the "optimal" figure, the new hospital would be providing the level of services provided by Erinville, St Finbarr's and the private maternity unit at the Bons Secours with an increased staff.

There are currently 483 staff employed between the three hospitals and the new CUMH will open with a staff of 665 across all grades.

Mr O'Brien said additional ward clerks and porters were being appointed to each ward so that midwives would have more time to spend with mothers.

"We will be opening on March 24th, there is no doubt about that. It would be a shame if we allowed the opening of this state-of-the art facility get bogged down in human relations and employment relations issues. We don't want this to become a numbers game between the INO and the HSE," he said.

Mr O'Brien told the HealthSupplement that he had written to the INO and Siptu to explain that he is happy to re-engage with external expert Marie Washbrook and other professionals once the hospital is in operation.

If they recommend the need for additional staff at that stage, a case could be made to the HSE for additional funding under the service planning process, he said.

"There is a fantastic sense of pride in the HSE about this development.

"The neonatal unit will be the biggest in Europe with 46 cots, including four intensive care cots. We want to reaffirm the fact that our midwives are doing a brilliant job in the south. We are now bringing all the staff from three hospitals and €40 million worth of equipment together into one brand new unit, it's a fantastic development for women," he said.

A public meeting held in Cork by the INO last Thursday night following days of intensive talks between the HSE and the union on the CUMH issue failed to lead to any resolution of the row.