CITY OF ANGELS
Huge public support »Staff tell of shocking for medics in strike row overcrowding on wards
There are not enough beds or nurses to cope with the volume of patients
KAREN MCGOWAN
DUBLIN YESTERDAY
TENS of thousands took to the streets of Dublin yesterday for a rally in support of nurses.
The demonstration was organised by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation to show the level of public support in their ongoing industrial dispute.
Student nurses wheeling suitcases led the march asking the Government to give them a reason to stay in the country and to encourage Irish nurses abroad to come home.
The rally follows three days of strike action over the past two weeks in a dispute over pay and staff shortages.
Nurses are demanding a wage rise to bring them into line with other healthcare professionals including physiotherapists.
Karen Mcgowan, 33, has worked in the emergency department at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital since qualifying 11 years ago.
She said she finds it heartbreaking that dangerous work practices such as leaving patients on trolleys have now become the norm.
Karen, who comes from the island of Aranmore off the Co Donegal coast, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I love working in the emergency department but it can’t go on the way it is.
“There are not enough beds or nurses to cope with the volume of patients coming in on a daily basis.
“Patients who have been admitted can’t move up to the wards because there are no beds for them.
“They need to be in a calm environment to start their recovery and they’re not getting that in the ED.
“It just feels like there is no respect for us any more. We have been pushed to the edge.”
Yesterday’s march began at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square and followed a route over O’connell Bridge to Government Buildings in Kildare Street.
Nurses stood alongside friends and family with some chanting: “What do we want? Safe staffing. When do we want it? Now.” Others demanded: “Open the purses.”
According to the INMO, a newlyqualified staff nurse or midwife starts on an annual salary of around €24,850, which is in the region of €11.50 per hour after tax.
Susan Macnicholas told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “It is not a vocation, it’s a profession and we need to be paid, we need to pay our bills and feed our families like everyone else. “It’s gotten to the stage where the nurses don’t value themselves, they have no self-respect left. “I’ve never seen anything like the anger and frustration.
“I believe if this is not resolved we won’t keep any young nurses in this country.”
Susan, from Co Meath, worked as a midwife but left in the mid-2000s. She recently returned to work in community care with older patients and said: “I brought thousands of babies into the world and now I’m helping thousands of people out of this world and it’s just not good enough.
“There is a huge issue of respect and there is a definite arrogance about this Government.
“When I left in the mid-2000s the workload was massive and the pay
was not enough. Here we are 12 years on and the pay is actually less.
“The reality is at the end of this pay agreement next year nurses will be on less than they were 12 years ago.”
Last night, exploratory talks between nursing representatives and health chiefs, along with the Psychiatric Nurses Association, continued at the Labour Court. Discussions on Friday between the INMO, ICTU and HSE bosses were adjourned after nine hours with no sign of a resolution.
As the rally got under way Phil Ni Sheaghdha, INMO general secretary, said nurses were “bolstered” by the level of support from people. She
added: “I think the public have been amazing. The public are dependent on a public health service and they know the type of service they need and deserve.
“We are hoping for meaningful engagement and that we can come out of these sets of talks with something we can take back to our members. Our mindset is we are here to do business but there is nothing at the moment that would cause us to avert this dispute.”
Addressing the crowd on a stage, she said: “This is the beginning, the line in the sand.” Catherine, a staff nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital, said she qualified three years ago and was “one of only about 12 in my year that is still here”. She added: “I love working in Ireland, it’s a great training. I just think it’s so sad people are leaving and can’t afford to come back.” Without a resolution there are three more days of strike action scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday reiterated the Government’s willingness to engage to end the dispute and said he welcomed the resumption of Labour Court talks.