Staffing issues concern INMO

Concern over staffing issues was raised yesterday by the INMO who said the Government’s €4bn boost to the health budget ‘could be wasted’ if understaffing continues.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Health Committee, the nurses union said that Covid-19 has exacerbated staffing problems and flagged looming pressures in the medium term, as overseas recruitment during Covid-19 becomes more difficult.

While strongly welcoming the additional health budget, the union expressed concerns over balancing new bed capacity, and staff to match. The Government’s proposed 67 extra critical care beds, they said, would require the equivalent of 435 full-time nurses to staff.

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: “The Government has given the health service a much-needed shot in the arm with this health spending. But if we don’t get staffing right, it could be wasted.

“In the short run, we need to see a proper workforce plan from the HSE and the return of recruitment powers to local managers. Our health service should be adopting an ‘all hands on deck’ approach, instead of delaying recruitment. Recruiting more staff will also help retain the ones we currently have.”

The INMO called on the committee to recommend a funded workforce plan, setting out how many staff the HSE will hire and asked that recruitment powers be returned to local managers, to overcome bureaucratic delays in hiring. Further recommendations included more undergraduate nursing and midwifery places and pay for student nurses and midwives during their placements.

The INMO also asked for a reduction in healthcare worker infection rates, through regular, universal Covid testing in all healthcare settings as well as an end to the derogation requiring some healthcare workers to return to work before the end of their self-isolation period.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha continued: “For the future of our health service, we need to be training more undergraduate nurses and midwives in Ireland. Over 5,000 people put nursing or midwifery as their first choice in the Leaving Cert, but we only have space for a little over a third of them.

“The health service can also keep people at work by ensuring that they aren’t exposed to this virus. That means ending exemptions to the self-isolation policy and bringing in regular testing in all healthcare settings.”