Limerick Nurses To Protest In Dublin Tomorrow, October 12th
Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and SIPTU will take their campaign for patient safety at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick to Dublin tomorrow, October 12th. Nurses are engaged in a campaign of action aimed at highlighting the unacceptable clinical risk, and their grave concern for patient care, which continues on a daily basis, arising from increased demand, overcrowding, and inadequate bed capacity at that hospital.
Members from both unions will leave Limerick at 8.15 a.m. tomorrow and travel on a bus aptly named “The Patient Safety Express” to Dublin, making three stops when they reach the capital to deliver letters to the following:
- Mr Cathal Magee, CEO. HSE, Dr Steeven’s Hospital
- Dr James Reilly, Minister for Health, Department of Health
- Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny, Leinster House
The bus is expected to reach HSE office at approximately 11.15 a.m.
They will then stage a protest outside Government Buildings between 1.00 and 2.00p.m., which they have invited TD’s and Senators to join and support their campaign.
After the protest they will move to Buswell’s Hotel where they will meet with Limerick T.D.s at 2.15 p.m. and this meeting will be followed by a press conference, also in Buswells, at 3.15 p.m.
The press conference will be addressed by officials from INMO and SIPTU, as well as nurses who work in the Emergency Department who will give an outline of the difficulties they face daily as they try to provide safe care for their patients in very difficult conditions.
Tomorrow’s protest follows three 4 hour work stoppages by nurses in the ED at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, two LRC hearings and a report from the Special Delivery Unit set up by the Minister for Health, James Reilly, to manage the nationwide A&E crisis.
Speaking today, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty said:
“The only objective of our members in this dispute is to secure safe care for patients. In order to do this we have requested the immediate assignment of Nurses to care for the admitted patients in the Emergency Department from within the Mid West Region to minimise the current clinical risks. We are also calling for immediate discussions on, and the early implementation of, the recommendations of the report from the Special Delivery Unit (SDU) of the Department of Health. All recognise that this dispute must be resolved and that high level intervention from within the HSE is at this stage is essential.”
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Louise O’Reilly said; “It is clear that local management are either unwilling or unable to resolve this dispute and we are calling for intervention from the Minister to secure the safety of the patients in the Mid-West Hospital. The recommendations of the SDU report vindicate the position of nurses in the hospital and should be implemented without delay.”
There will be no disruption to services at the MWRH, Limerick tomorrow as members are travelling to Dublin on their own time.
