Kerry hospital: Kerry General Hospital may have to cut back on some services due to a severe shortage of nursing staff, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has claimed.
It said yesterday the hospital was short of up to 80 nurses and their absence was being made up by existing staff working days off and annual leave.
Michael Dineen, INO industrial relations officer, said management at the hospital had agreed to an independent nurse staffing review at the Labour Relations Commission last year. However, it would not begin until next month, he said.
"Our people are saying it will take about six months to get that report and we can't continue as we are for that long. Last week there were a considerable number of people on sick leave which brought things to a head," he said. He claimed the nurses on duty could not guarantee a safe level of care for patients.
A HSE Southern Area spokesman said its policy was to replace absent staff where replacements were available. "Every effort has been made by the management of Kerry General Hospital to have a full complement of nursing staff available and have undertaken a number of actions including advertising for temporary staff and deferring of career breaks and granting of flexible working time," he said.