Response to hospital overcrowding 'extremely lacking' as 101 awaiting beds in UHL
Health Not Inmo The Are Issues Said Hse, Overcrowding By Seriously A Being Issue Workers’ Taken As The
Fire safety reports are not being adhered to in University Hospital Limerick (UHL), according to a union that stated 457 patients are without a bed today across Irish hospitals.
One-hundred-and-one of these are in UHL which has been highlighted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) for not adhering to fire safety reports.
The union said overcrowding issues are not being taken seriously as a workers’ health issue by the HSE, and if no action is taken, they "will have no other option but to discuss industrial action" with members in emergency departments.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said current figures of patients without beds are "completely unacceptable".
"For there to be 457 patients without a bed on a single day in the middle of June is not something we should accept as a given," said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.
She added that the "response thus far from the Health Services Executive, the Health and Safety Authority has been extremely lacking".
“The INMO has requested that the Emergency Department Taskforce meet as a matter of urgency three times and the response from the HSE has been inadequate.
Since June 4, there have been 3,566 patients on trolleys and a 76% increase in Covid hospitalisations, she said.
“The Health and Safety Authority must act on the unsafe conditions are members are working in and patients are presenting to," Ms Ní Sheaghdha continued.
"We know that in some hospitals such as University Hospital Limerick that fire safety reports are not being adhered to."
"The dignity of patients is often diminished because of the conditions they are being treated in," it was added.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha described Ireland's Emergency Departments as "pressure cooker environments leading to the physical and verbal assault of our members in some instances".
"The HSE has a duty to provide a safe environment for employees and patients and this just is not being adhered to in the vast majority of hospitals."
She continued: "Our nurses are at the end of our tether, and they cannot provide the clinical care that is required. They are burnt out both physically and mentally and cannot continue at this pace".
Many will be driven out of the profession due to "the slow reaction and at times hands-off approach from their employer", she stated.
“The INMO is of the view that the Emergency Department agreement brokered between this union and the HSE is being ignored by the employer leaving nurses exposed to unsafe and high-risk situations.
"We have referred this issue back to the Workplace Relations Commission and a date is awaited. At this juncture, without real focus and input we will have no other option but to discuss industrial action with our members in emergency departments.”