‘There’s a crisis in nurse recruitment, retention’
THE crisis in recruitment and retention has made it extremely difficult for nurses to do their job properly, independent councillor Declan Bree has stated.
He was one of many local politicians who joined the nurses on the picket line outside Sligo University Hospital on a wintry Wednesday morning last.
“Going on strike is the last thing a nurse or midwife wants to do. It is now obvious that the HSE simply cannot recruit enough nurses and midwives on the basis of the low wages offered. Until that changes, the health service will continue to go understaffed and patient care will be compromised.
“The INMO has made it clear that the crisis in our health service and the ongoing failure to recruit and retain nurses has made it almost impossible to provide safe care for patients.
“In the last decade the number of staff nurses employed in our hospitals has fallen significantly.
“The level of understaffing is what lies behind many of the headlines we regularly see about our health service including long waiting lists and record trolley statistics.
“In recent years nurses have well-articulated their frustration at what has been happening to our health services. This is not just about pay, it is about the kind of health service we want in Ireland.
“If we want a decent public health service and if we want a standard of care provided that we can be proud of then we must support the nurses in their strike action.” said Cllr Bree.