This article is from page 4 of the 2011-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
STRIKE action at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick is just seven days away after the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) served strike notice to the HSE last week.
The HSE last week announced that the hospital, which is the primary A&E for Clare patients from 8pm at night to 8am in the morning since the reconfiguration of A&E services at Ennis General Hospital in May of 2009, would have to close 25 beds at the hospital and reduce staff overtime by half.
According to Mary Fogarty of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the industrial action is a direct result of the pressure which has been put on the hospital by the extra volume of patients coming from Ennis. “This has been brought about by the continued neglect at the hospital. The A&E department at the hospital has been devastated since reconfiguration in 2009,” she said. “We were promised more beds and more staff and nothing has happened. We were told by the HSE that this would have no impact on the treatment of patients but this has not been the case either.
“We have seen more patients coming in from Ennis and from Nenagh and we have not been given the resources to deal with it. The patients that are coming in from Ennis tend to be the sickest patients and that is making the situations even more difficult.
The IMO have also confirmed that it is unlikely at this stage that industrial action will spread to Ennis General Hospital. The nurses organisation have also said that they will issue the HSE with details of what form the industrial action will take later this week.
Last Tuesday, September 6, members of the Accident and Emergency Department at the Mid West regional Hospital in Limerick voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.
It is understood that any industrial action at the hospital will include a work-to-rule and possibly some work stoppages. The INMO has asked the HSE to prioritise the Emergency Department at the hospital so that patients can be given a bed as quickly as possible.