Star-turned-nurse accuses system of exploiting students
FORMER Miss Universe Ireland Gráinne Gallanagh has gone from the catwalk to the frontline in the fight against coronavirus.
Gráinne, who returned to work as a nurse to help during the pandemic, said that student nurses are ‘being taken for granted’.
Ms Gallanagh has been working in a hospital in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, since she returned to the medical frontline.
Sharing a post from an Instagram account which seeks better support for student nurses, Gráinne wrote: ‘Student nurses are really being taken for granted and used as an extra pair of hands – especially now
‘They aren’t getting any financial aid’
during the pandemic – with no financial aid. ‘I think it’s appalling how they have put themselves on the line with nothing in return… a clap doesn’t pay their bills.’ In a follow-up post on her Instagram Stories, she said: ‘Student nurses and midwives are working maybe 39 hours a week in clinical placement, in coronavirus wards, not entitled to sick pay or sick leave, for that matter, aren’t getting any financial aid. ‘A lot of them have actually had to leave their jobs because of cross-contamination, so there’s actually no income, there’s no financial aid.’ The former Dancing with the Stars contestant added: ‘The days are l ong.
You’re used as an extra pair of hands. I remember it so well and it was honestly one of the toughest times of my life and I’ve had to learn a samba in a week, so I know tough, okay!
‘But honestly, I just think that it’s a disgrace, so get that hashtag going.’
Gráinne was referring to the #paystudentnursesandmidwives hashtag, which is being used on social media to support the cause.
The model, who hails from Buncrana, Co. Donegal, decided after college to train as a nurse specialising in women’s health.
Gallanagh qualified as a nurse in 2016 and worked in the UK for years before her modelling career took off and she won the Miss Universe Ireland title.
Her star peaked on the RTÉ reality TV series Dancing With the Stars last March when she and her partner Kai Widdrington made it to the series grand finale, only for the run to be cut short due to the pandemic.