DUBLIN: The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has issued a fervent appeal to the Health Service Executive (HSE) to immediately lift the ban on recruitment of healthcare department staff, citing escalating patient overcrowding and other critical challenges.
Highlighting a troubling statistic, the organisation underscored the HSE’s confirmation of a 13% surge in emergency department patients compared to the corresponding period in 2023, despite the ongoing recruitment freeze. The INMO emphasised that this freeze poses significant hurdles to both long-term patient care and staff retention, prompting an urgent call for its withdrawal.
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, lamented the immense burden faced by nurses and midwives amidst heightened public frustration. “Employees are grappling with mounting pressures across various healthcare settings, resulting in an exceptionally demanding environment within hospitals,” remarked Sheaghdha, emphasising that the systemic challenges confronting the health service demand immediate government intervention.
Furthermore, Sheaghdha highlighted the concerning shortage of general practitioners, which often forces individuals to resort to local emergency departments as a last resort. Compounding this issue is the lack of staffing patterns aligned with population growth within hospitals. As the population grows, along with the prevalence of complex medical conditions and an ageing demographic, frontline staff recruitment has failed to keep pace. The failure to replace retiring or relocating employees exacerbates patient safety concerns and severely impacts employee morale.
The INMO’s impassioned plea serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need to address staffing shortages in healthcare settings to alleviate strain on services and ensure the delivery of high-quality patient care.
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