NURSES STRIKE TO GO AHEAD

NURSES at the Louth County Hospital and health centres in Dundalk and north Louth are set to take to the picket line tomorrow ( Wednesday) as part of a nationwide strike.

This will be only the second time in the INMO’s hundred-year history that nurses or midwives go on strike and it follows the break-down in talks to address the recruitment and retention crisis in Irish nursing and midwifery.

The 24-hour industrial action is planned to take place at all public hospitals, healthcare facilities and community healthcare services from 8am on Wednesday until 8am on Thursday morning.

While Emergency Departments, such as Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, will be open, Local Injury Units including the one at the Louth County Hospital, will be closed.

Other services to be affected include elective surgery and out patients appointments.

Services which will be continuing include urgent cancer surgery, maternity services, critical care, colposcopy services, oncology services (chemotherapy and radiotherapy), and dialysis.

Community services will also be affected with public day centres for older people or people with disabilities, where nurses are employed, closing. All routine community nursing services and health centre clinics where nurses participate will be cancelled.

NMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: ‘Going on strike is the last thing a nurse or midwife wants to do. But the crisis in recruitment and retention has made it impossible for us to do our jobs properly. We are not able give patients the care they deserve under these conditions.

The HSE simply cannot recruit enough nurses and midwives on these wages.’