INMO has no faith in changes to nurses' working conditions

Vivienne Clarke

The general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), Phil ní Sheaghdha, has said that their members have “absolutely no faith” in any changes being made to make their working conditions better.

A big change is required, she told RTÉ radio’s News at One. The INMO visited hospitals around the country in the past month which are all “understaffed, overcrowded with high incidence of burnout," she said.

“Our members are telling us that they are practicing in unsafe conditions day and night. They have absolutely no faith in anybody making the big change that is required.

"And when we reach an agreement, they're even more frustrated because those agreements are not implemented properly.

“What they're saying to us is that they have no faith at the moment in the ability of their employer to keep them safe when they go to work or to allow them practice safely.

"When you speak about nurses, you're speaking about their conditions of employment, but you're also speaking about patients and about the absolutely terrible conditions under which patients are being treated right now.”

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said her members believed there was a level of complacency in the system, that 400 people on trolleys was “not so bad” when in fact it was bad and there were 548 people on trolleys on Friday.

“There doesn't seem to be any different action being taken today than there will be next week when we might have a lesser number or a higher number, because there's no plan. So what our members are saying is we need a proper plan to tackle this issue and it has to include funding for an increased workforce.

“You cannot open one single extra bed in this country without supplying funding for nurses.”

Hospitals were employers and had a duty to keep their staff safe, she said.

But her members were being forced to work in really unsafe conditions with high incidences of assaults.