INMO Nursing and Midwifery members working in the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar have expressed serious concerns relating to deteriorating staffing levels at the hospital.
At an emergency meeting last evening, attended by the INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha; Director of Industrial Relations, Tony Fitzpatrick and INMO Industrial Relations Officer for the area Dean Flanagan, real and serious concerns were raised by INMO members in relation to the current working conditions and their ability to provide safe care across the campus.
The chronic shortage of staffing in the hospital has resulted in some shifts being left uncovered, and the hospital now being entirely reliant on agency with an average of 100 shifts being covered on an ad-hoc agency/overtime basis per week.
INMO members have highlighted these issues over the past number of years resulting in WRC agreements regarding staffing. However, the situation has deteriorated and now requires immediate senior HSE decisions to be made. Unsafe situations for staff and patients are a real concern for the nursing and midwifery staff at the hospital.
The INMO has today set out the staff concerns to hospital management and to the HSE at hospital group and national level. Retention and recruitment of nursing and midwifery staff to this midlands hospital remains a real problem.
"This staffing crisis is real and requires immediate and focused attention. It is entirely unfair and unsafe to expect nurses and midwives to be able to practice safely, and to the standards set for them, in an environment where they are constantly working short'.