Staff concern as nurses to be let go at end of studies

Date Published: {J}

BY CIARAN TIERNEY

FRONTLINE staff at University Hospital Galway (UHG) have warned of service cutbacks and ward closures unless staffing issues are addressed before the current crop of fourth year nursing students complete their studies in September.

About 80 nursing students who are due to complete their nine month internships are set to be let go by the hospital on September 1, whereas in other years half of them would have been retained until the next group of final year students were ready to begin their practical work at the hospital four months later.

With more than 50 patients on trolleys at UHG over two nights this week, representatives of the Irish Nursing and Midwives Organisation (INMO) are fearful that cutbacks are inevitable during the four month void between the two groups of final year students.

“We can see services being cut and wards being closed unless the issue of staffing and the replacement of final year interns is addressed,” warned INMO representative Noreen Muldoon this week.

The INMO logged 11 patients who were lying on trolleys on Sunday night, 26 on Monday, and 27 on Tuesday.

Two weeks ago, shock INMO figures showed that there were 3,033 patients lying on trolleys at UHG in the first six months of this year, a 35% increase on the corresponding period last year.

Nurses have also expressed concern that no extra resources have been put in place at UHG or three other hospitals to cater for an increase in patients following the closure of the Emergency Department at Roscommon Hospital.

“It is very early days yet in terms of the number of patients coming to UHG from Roscommon, but the fact is that the hospital is already overcrowded and no extra resources have been put in place,” said Ms Muldoon.

“On top of that, the students are finishing their nine month internships on September 1 and you are talking about effectively losing 30 to 40 full-time rostered nurses, as in other years the hospital would normally employ half of them.

“In addition, a lot of people intend to retire before the end of February next year, when their retirement will be based on their old pay, before public sector pay cuts came into effect. The Health Service Executive are saying that these people cannot be replaced and we feel it is inevitable there will have to be cut-backs to services.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.