Nurses at the accident and emergency department of the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise have threatened to take industrial action from next Monday in protest at a blanket ban on the use of agency nurses by the Midland Health Board.
The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) said the ban has resulted in acute staff shortages in the A&E unit. Its industrial relations officer, Mr Kevin O'Connor, claimed pressure was being put on members of the INO who are job-sharing and working reduced hours due to family commitments, to work extra hours in order to fill the gaps and make up the shortfall in the rota.
He said the most serious aspect of the decision was that it broke a clause in the national A&E agreement which came into place in March 2002 following the A&E dispute. This allowed for agency nursing cover to be used at the discretion of a ward sister when it was considered necessary due to high volume of patient numbers or, as in the case of Portlaoise, acute staff shortages.
"In an attempt to paper over the cracks, nurse management has attempted to cover shortages by deploying nurses from other parts of the hospital, who are not A&E trained and are not familiar with the department. These nurses receive no induction or orientation to the A&E department which creates an unsafe environment for both the nurse and patients alike," he added.
He said industrial action, which could include withdrawal of labour, would begin unless the situation was brought under control by Monday. A spokeswoman for the health board said there was an additional cost involved in employing agency nurses over and above what it costs to employ nurses directly. "The board's stated preference in the current economic climate is to employ nurses directly," she said.
In a separate development, Labour Court talks aimed at averting industrial action by the State's 270 public health doctors have been adjourned until February 14th.