Industrial action to start at Limerick hospital

Nurses at St John’s Hospital in Limerick are to start a work to rule from 8am on Thursday in a dispute over staffing levels at the facility.

The union says there are 30 nursing vacancies at St John’s and has criticised management at the hospital, which has 89 in-patient and 10 day care beds, for not reducing services to take account of the impact the shortage of staff has been having over a prolonged period of time.

“The inability of management at St John’s Hospital to recognise the impact substantial nursing vacancies are having on our members and their failure to curtail services to safer limits to match the availability of nurses has compounded the dispute,” said the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) Mary Fogarty.

She said the union’s members would “only carry out core nursing duties” for the duration of the industrial action is to currently intended to be open ended.

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“This is not a decision that INMO members in St. John’s Hospital have taken lightly but because of the staffing restriction they cannot provide safe care therefore they are left with no option but to ensure the nursing care of their patients is prioritised,” he said.

In response, management at the hospital said services at the hospital, which include day surgeries, physiotherapy and a variety of nurse led clinics, would continue to be provided as normal during the action and insisted patient safety would not be compromised.

“Discussions have taken place over recent weeks between the senior leadership team and the INMO to try and avoid industrial action, without reaching a resolution. While this industrial action is a matter of regret, we remain available to engage with the INMO to come to a mutually agreed solution at the earliest possible point,” the hospital said in a statement.

“We wish to reassure members of the public that any patient admitted to our hospital and patients in our care will be cared for in a compassionate and safe manner and that patient needs will remain at the centre of care delivery. We continue to utilise our full bed base at this time and have not curtailed services.

“St John’s currently have 15 nurses completing compliances with proposed start dates in the coming weeks, which will have a positive impact on nurse vacancies.

“The consequences of the recent embargo on filling of future vacancies will hinder further recruitment,” it said.