HSE holds off on sacking 11 nurses at Mullingar hospital

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has held off on its decision to sack 11 nurses from the Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar following a meeting with the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO).The decision allows for a risk assessment to be carried out on the potential impact it would have on services if the proposed staffing reduction were to go ahead.The HSE has also stalled its plans to reduce staff at Tullamore and Portlaoise hospitals, where 17 fixed term and temporary nursing contracts were up for cessation.Speaking after the meeting, INO Industrial Relations Officer, Lorraine Monaghan said that she welcomed the HSE's commitment not to proceed with the cessation of temporary contracts until risk assessments have been carried out at local level."This process will focus on safe staffing levels, clinical risk and the impact of staffing reductions on patient care. The INO have no doubt, that such risk assessments, when carried out in an open and transparent manner, will uncover dangerously low staffing levels in all three hospitals," said Ms Monaghan. She added that there has been a considerable reduction of nursing and midwifery staff in recent months, who have retired or resigned and have not been replaced because of the HSE ban on recruitment.Also at the meeting, it was suggested that Mullingar hospital was being run on a deficit of €1.5 million. However, when contacted by the Westmeath Examiner, a spokesperson for the HSE said Mullingar operates more efficiently and on a lower budget."The Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar, similar to every other health care provider in the country, is allocated a budget to manage resources in order to achieve service plan targets," said Arlene Crean of the HSE."The hospital is currently operating with a budget of approximately €65 million - half a million short of what was allocated for the same period last year," she continued."Significantly, the hospital is continuing the same activity levels of 2008 and exceeding its service plan targets up to end of May 2009."A total of 10,998 day case and in-patient procedures have been carried out at the hospital, compared to 10,903 for the same period last year."However, INO reps said that they provided management with very real and graphic examples of how patient care has suffered at the hands of the HSE's harsh recruitment control policies."The effect of taking a further 21 nursing staff out of the three Midland Regional Hospitals, would most certainly have a detrimental effect on patient care and ultimately lead to fatalities," explained Lorraine Monaghan."This is about safe practice and our members cannot accept and work in conditions which they consider pose high risk to the safety and welfare of patients in their care," she continued.The INO has decided to postpone a ballot for industrial action, pending the outcome of these local level discussions and risk assessments.However they warned if the threat on the cessation of temporary posts is reactivated, without agreement on safe staffing levels, the INO would immediately move to ballot members for industrial action.