INMO calls on government to remove recruitment red tape this winter

An Irish nurses group is calling on the government to remove recruitment red tape this winter. 

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation commented following the publication of the HSE Winter Plan yesterday (October 12), with INMO Deputy General Secretary, Dr Edward Mathews, stating, "Plans and reality are two very different things." 

Over €169million has been allocated to fund the Winter Plan for 2022/2023, which will reportedly include the recruitment of 608 posts across a range of services. 

Measures in the plan include the ongoing delivery of additional acute and community beds, increased staffing capacity in line with the Safe Staffing and Skill-Mix Framework, and the planned extension of opening hours of a number of local injury units during the winter period. 

Dr Mathews said, "The INMO has welcomed the publication of the Winter Plan for the upcoming months. The inclusion of a hospital-by-hospital allocation is something that the INMO has long called for.

"The reality is unless we have the staff announcing additional capacity is futile. We know that many of our emergency departments are not staffed adequately or safely at present. In order to allow for more nurses and midwives to be recruited at the pace in which we need them, Directors of Nursing and Midwifery in each hospital should have a greater role in recruitment." 

Alternative patient pathways are also expected to be implemented during the winter period including Enhanced Community Care (ECC) supports, as well as the roll-out of flu and Covid-19 vaccination programmes. 

A public health plan will be implemented as appropriate - including a surge and emergency response plan - in the event of a significant surge in Covid-19 infections. 

The doctor continued: "As part of the winter plan, nurses, midwives and the patients they care for need to be assured that every bed possible, including beds in the private hospitals, will be used this winter. This coupled with ensuring that diagnostics are made available in the community and at weekends should relieve pressure on our emergency departments.

"In the longer term, we need assurances from the Minister for Health that the commissioning of elective-only hospitals, as per the SláinteCare plan, will be sped up. This will be a game changer in winters to come.

"Our members are currently overburdened and overworked in the situations they are working in, they are telling us that they are not willing to put up with another winter in intolerable conditions, with many voting with their feet and leaving the profession altogether. We must ensure that there is a legal basis for the implementation of safe staffing levels."