Staffing crisis at Mullingar Hospital

"Dangerously low" staffing levels at the Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar are putting lives in danger, and placing the facility's hard working nurses in impossible conditions, it has been claimed.The Westmeath Examiner has learned that the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has contacted the Health Service Executive to express its anger at the fact that neither the union or hospital staff were consulted about the opening of six additional beds at the hospital's Observation Ward.The number of beds at the ward was recently increased from 12 to 18, but no additional nurses were allocated to meet this increase.It has been reported that in recent weeks, just one staff nurse and a healthcare assistant were left overnight to provide care for eighteen patients, while a second nurse was redeployed elsewhere.The INMO is asking that three full-time staff nurses, a healthcare assistant and a liaison nurse be assigned to the ward on long days, with a guaranteed two nurses and one healthcare assistant on duty at night.If this staffing level is not achieved, the nurses' union said that it will call for the closure of the six new beds, "in order to allow our nurse members deliver safe patient care".A HSE spokesperson said this week that by its very nature, the number of beds at the ward will "fluctuate due to activity and clinical need"."Activity and clinical need are assessed on a daily basis, and the ward is staffed accordingly," the spokesperson said, explaining that the observation ward is used to facilitate patients due for admission to the In-patient Ward."The Hospital is confident that they will meet their elective activity targets for the year."But local councillor Peter Burke, a member of the HSE's Dublin/Mid-Leinster Regional Health Forum, said that staffing levels at the hospital are "dangerously low"."It is wholly unacceptable that nurses would be put in this position by the HSE, as a direct result of the recruitment embargo," Cllr. Burke said."I understand that six additional beds have being opened in the observation ward bringing the number of beds up to 18 from 12 without any consultation whatsoever with nursing staff or any additional staff being allocated a move."I find it wholly unacceptable that the HSE would put nursing staff in such a position, and I am calling on the HSE to address this situation as a matter of urgency."The nursing staff of Mullingar Hospital give so much and are extremely professional and for the HSE not to consult with them in relation to staffing shortages is disrespectful to say the least."Meanwhile, the HSE has failed to respond to reports that day admissions at the hospital were drastically reduced last week, due to staffing pressures.