Over 30 vacant nursing posts in University Hospital Kerry, warns INMO

Eva Osborne

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has expressed concerns about members in University Hospital Kerry being forced to work short due to over 30 nursing and midwifery vacancies on the Tralee campus.

INMO members, alongside other healthcare unions, will protest conditions at the hospital on Wednesday at 12:30pm.

Commenting on the situation at University Hospital Kerry, INMO industrial relations officer Liam Conway said nurses and midwives at the hospital are "extremely concerned" about what is in store for them this winter due to the 30 nursing and midwifery vacancies.

He said the HSE's Pay and Numbers Strategy is simply a "cut and cap" to nursing and, since December 2023, has left areas short-staffed and unsafe.

“It is simply an own goal. There is significant interest in nursing and midwifery posts in University Hospital Kerry with many candidates waiting to be offered positions.

"The vacancies are there but the local Directors of Nursing and Midwifery have no authority to recruit to fully implement the Safe Staffing Framework, fill posts when staff go on maternity leave and fill key nursing/midwifery management posts.

“Despite continuous and sustained overcrowding in UHK, the emergency department and medical wards continue to hold vacancies. There are examples of key specialist posts being unfilled, such as a specialist midwifery post in High Risk Pregnancy, which is very concerning.

“We now have the supply of nurses and midwives to work in University Hospital Kerry but this policy is blocking recruitment. Without the lifting of the pay and numbers strategy, which is an embargo, conditions and safety for patients in UHK and all across the country will continue to worsen now and throughout the winter.”