University of Limerick Hospital Management Suffers Nurses: INMO prepares for strike

Limerick: Nurses prepare for war against the arrogance of the University Hospital of Limerick management who did not take action to fill the vacancies and were reluctant to discuss with the Workplace Relations Commission. 

More than a thousand nurses at the University Hospital are voting for the strike started. The issue was taken up by the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organization (INMO), which represents more than a thousand nurses.

There are no enough staffs in emergency department and wards. And this happens when there are already many wards which has low staffing standards.

More nurses are required to meet the needs of Covid-19. But management is not even ready for an open discussion on this. All nurses are frustrated with the management’s approach of not filling nurse vacancies and not taking any action to address other related issues.

The organization says management is arrogant in refusing to provide information on nurses’ vacancies, even as requested by the INMO.   

Patients are at risk due to a shortage of nurses. Overcrowding in the Covid-19 department, nursing vacancies in wards, emergency departments and theaters, and overwork are the several concerns of nurses.

Limerick nurses are in total distress due to the epidemic and the winter rush. Even the emergency department is facing shortage of staffs. There are 17-20% vacancies for nurses. In some wards, the shortage of nurses is as high as 30 percent.

Mary Fogarty, assistant director of INMO Industrial Relations, said there would be a delay in allocating additional 96 beds in hospitals, if the management is unwilling to attend WRC.