'Patient safety at risk' - INMO

The loss of 75 nursing staff at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore since 2009 is compromising patient care and safety, a nursing union claimed this week. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) noted they have yet to see contingency plans from the HSE to deal with the latest exodus of nursing staff from the region's hospitals at the end of February, a worrying state of affairs exacerbated by the non-replacement of staff since the introduction of public service moratorium on recruitment. According to union figures eight nurses will retire from Tullamore hospital by the end of the month, while another 22 will depart Mullingar, including six midwives. Across the Dublin/Mid-Leinster region, latest HSE statistics from January 13 shows that 494 people had indicated their intention to retire across all areas of the service, with nursing making up 219 of the total. Speaking of the Tullamore situation this week, Lorraine Monaghan from the INMO said: "It's extremely bad. Tullamore hospital has lost 75 nurses since 2009 when the moratorium kicked in. It's a serious situation to lose that amount of highly skilled and professional nurses". Conditions are extremely tough in Tullamore and nurses are under severe pressure with far less staff than two and half years ago, she admitted, noting that patient care has been compromised and there is an increasing risk to patients as result of far less front-line staff. "We've yet to see the contingency plans (from the HSE) so what lies ahead is very worrying. It's impossible to maintain the same level of service with the number of nurses leaving at the same time," she added. The INMO also voiced major fears about the future ability to deliver safe maternity services in Mullingar, which caters for mothers in large parts of Offaly, with the departure of six midwives on top of non-replacement of retiring staff up to the now. Unless they are replaced it's going "to spell disaster" Ms Monaghan outlined, sharing fears already expressed by consultants in Limerick about the health and welfare of mothers and babies. She called on the HSE to meet with the unions as soon as possible in relation to contingency measures, urging management to replace the critical, specialist nursing posts being lost in the Midlands. The union also suggested that health authorities examine the possibility of taking on agency staff into direct employment and employing graduate nurses as a way of improving the situation, both measures which would accrue substantial cost savings for the HSE. "We can't provide a safe service with the numbers leaving the system and we are asking the HSE to work with us on the issue to find ways to turn this around," the INMO Industrial Relations Officer concluded.