Packed out public meeting on staffing levels at St Michael’s Hospital
Last Wednesday Richard Boyd Barrett hosted a packed meeting about unsafe staffing levels across the Health Service.
People Before Profit organised the meeting because we had heard reports from a number of staff members in St Michael’s about an effective embargo on recruitment where even maternity and sick leaves were not being covered.
As soon as Richard started to raise this issue in the Dáil and on social media it became clear that the problem exists across the whole health service. There were staff from St Michael’s but also Loughlinstown, St Luke’s, and St Vincents at the meeting with reports that staff are not being replaced or recruited there either.
This is despite the government and HSE stating publicly that the recruitment embargo in our health services was revoked on 15th July.
Instead, there is a so-called “Pay and Numbers” strategy that has imposed a cap on staffing across all hospitals.
Thanks to those who have spoken out on this and the questions that Richard Boyd Barrett has raised with the Minister, we have just heard that 21 extra posts have been sanctioned for St Michael’s – but this is not enough.
It is totally unacceptable that an embargo is being imposed in our hospitals which risks patient safety. Staffing should be decided by patient need not by arbitrary caps. This government needs to trust nurses and health staff.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation rep at the meeting confirmed that the health unions are balloting members on this issue and will be organising protests in the coming weeks.
The meeting agreed to:
· Establish a Local Health Service Support Network
· Support health workers’ protests and actions
· Take up a petition
· Lobby TDs and General Election candidates to support Patient Safety Legislation
If you would like to get involved with this campaign, please text Cllr Melisa Halpin at 086 380 5793.
