LRC urges new deal on nurse staff levels

THE LABOUR Court has found that health service management and trade unions should agree a new framework for nurse staffing levels…

THE LABOUR Court has found that health service management and trade unions should agree a new framework for nurse staffing levels to apply in hospitals in the periods when student nurses are not present on clinical placements.

It said that if fewer nurses were required in the future the savings generated should be apportioned to the nursing grades and calculated towards their contribution to reduced numbers overall in the health sector.

The court found that the HSE in the west was not entitled to set aside a national agreement in its decision not to replace student nurses who completed their rostered clinical placements this month as part of moves to tackle financial difficulties.

It said that there was clearly a national agreement in place that provided for the replacement of student nurses and midwives by qualified nurses and midwives at a ratio of 2:1 after their in-hospital training rotation. However it said that “no agreement is immutable or lasts forever. By their nature agreements are necessarily subject to change and renegotiation to reflect the prevailing circumstances of the times”.

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The Labour Court said the HSE was undergoing several simultaneous developments including restructuring, resizing and reorganising to match patient needs with revised structures while at the same time managing a reduced budget and meeting a Government instruction to reduce staff numbers.

It also pointed out that trade unions had agreed under the Croke Park deal on public service pay and reform to improved service provision and to co-operate with a transformation process in return for commitments from the State on pay, pensions and job security.

“In these circumstances it is clear that this agreement cannot be unaffected by such profound developments and needs to be reviewed and updated in the context of the developing financial and organisational realities facing the HSE and the State itself.”

“Accordingly, the court recommends that the parties to the agreement meet at national level and agree a new framework for the management of staff numbers in the period between the termination of one and the commencement of the next student nurse rotation commensurate with the actual needs of the restructured and resized services.

“Where the number of nurses engaged in this period of time is less than the number that the 2:1 ratio would require, the resulting savings should be apportioned to the nursing grades and included for the purposes of calculating their contribution to the total reductions in staff numbers required to meet financial and employment constraints.”

The court said that this process should be completed no later than October 31st next.

The HSE in the West said that it welcomed the court recommendation which recognised no agreement “is immutable”. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said it was pleased the Court has found national agreements could not be unilaterally altered.