Sir, - It strikes me as strangely ironic in the newly affluent Ireland that one of the things we should value most is being lost, and lost irretrievably, namely a quality health service. Padraig O'Morain (The Irish Times, August 17th) highlighted the staffing deficits countrywide. These are having a huge impact on services in the Dublin area. Services are already curtailed and beds are closed in most hospitals. In the hospital where I work, one ward is already closed and a further two will close at the end of the month. This is not because of a budget overrun but purely and simply because of the shortage of nurses.
This means overcrowding for our patients and the deferral of all non-urgent operations and treatments. Young people are not choosing nursing as a career because they see it as undervalued in society - and not only in monetary terms. Nurses already in the profession are becoming increasingly disillusioned by understaffing, unsocial hours and overtime at short notice. Quite a number are moving out of Dublin - to hospitals where the shortages are not so acute - or are leaving the profession altogether. Another important factor in trying to recruit nurses into Dublin from abroad or from elsewhere in Ireland is that nurses simply cannot afford the exorbitant rents/house prices.
If they live in the burgeoning dormitory towns surrounding Dublin, they have difficulty commuting as there is no viable alternative to the car and if they drive there are fewer and fewer parking spaces available in or around city-centre hospitals. Schools of nursing and midwifery have seen demand for places fall from a torrent five years ago to a mere trickle today, with not enough applicants to fill the places available. Even if the Celtic Tiger meets its demise sooner rather than later, this is a situation that I for one cannot see being reversed. The future for nursing and midwifery in Ireland looks bleak indeed. - Yours, etc.,
Maureen Fallon, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.