Tullamore nurse elected to lead union role

Clinical Nurse Manager at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore Geraldine Talty has been elected first vice president of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO). Ms Talty was elected last Friday during the organisation's annual delegate conference in Killarney. She will serve as first vice president until 2014. Ms Talty qualified as a registered nurse in 1987. She has a first class honours degree in Health Care Management and is currently undertaking an MSc in Leadership and Management Development in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. A member of the INMO for many years, Ms Talty has a record of local representation and action on behalf of INMO members in the Midlands region and has served on the organisation's executive council for the past two years. Ms Talty is also secretary of the Offaly branch of the INMO, a role that involves communication, negotiation and dedication. She is also an elected INMO hospital representative in the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. Speaking following her election Ms Talty said she was particularly concerned about the effect the moratorium was having on the safety and welfare of nurses and midwives and the ill effects it was in turn having on patient care. "I will continue to speak up for the nursing/midwifery professions and advocate for patients," she said. "There must be consequences when thousands of nurses and midwives are removed from the health service and are not replaced. Unfortunately it is the patient that is paying the price."