New nursing taskforce to examine acceptable staffing levels

A taskforce on staffing levels in nursing has been announced by Minister for Health James Reilly.

The announcement comes as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is beginning a lobbying campaign for better staffing ratios in nursing. The union wants a ratio of one nurse to four patients in busy wards and one midwife for every 29.5 births in maternity units.

However, Dr Reilly has signalled that the taskforce is likely to recommend ranges of acceptable staffing levels, as opposed to strict ratios.

The announcement was made at the INMO annual conference in Kilkenny this morning. Department of Health secretary general Ambrose McLoughlin delivered Dr Reilly's speech as the Minister is indisposed.

Dr Reilly warned that nursing cannot be immune to measures necessary to contain costs by reducing staff numbers in the health service.

Deciding on the optimal number of nurses was not easy, he said. “There is a delicate and important balance to be struck to meet both economic efficiency and patient safety requirements.”

For this reason, he had decided to establish a taskforce “to develop a framework to determine staffing and skill mix requirements for the nursing workforce”.

The taskforce will be chaired by the chief nursing officer and will include relevant experts, as well as INMO representatives. “The use of staffing ranges, as opposed to staffing ratios, will retain flexibility in the system while ensuring that patient safety is clearly and rightly the central focus.”

INMO general secretary Liam Doran welcomed the initiative and said the union would be "loud and active" in pressing for improved staff ratios.

Dr Reilly announced the recruitment of three deputy chief nursing officers in his Department. He has also approved an initiative allowing eight Filipino nurses to return home for four weeks on full pay so they can assist in relief work following the disastrous typhoon which struck the Philippines six months ago.

A motion from the INMO executive council expressing support for universal health insurance was defeated after speakers said it would be interpreted as being in suport of Dr Reilly’s policies.