Deputy chief nursing officers
I wo uld like to give a very warm welcome to the announcement by the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar in relation to the appointment of three deputy chief nursing officers to support the post of chief nursing officer, Dr Siobhan O’Halloran. We have been seeking these senior posts for nursing and midwifery in the Department of Health for many years and I would like to congratulate Dr Anne-Marie Ryan, Dr Phillipa Ryan Witheroe and Susan Kent on their appointments. I look forward to working with them alongside the chief nurse on behalf of nurses and midwives into the future.

ICN
I am participating in a committee of Irish nurse leaders including Dr Siobhan O’Halloran, chief nursing officer, Department of Health; Annette Kennedy, third vice president, ICN; Paul Gallagher, president, NMBI; and Avilene Casey, president of IADNAM, among others. The committee is aiming to assist the Sudan Nursing Association in developing a nursing education database to help them progress and establish five schools of nursing that were announced by their Health Ministry recently. Currently, nursing and midwifery are struggling as professions in Sudan. According to the Southern Sudan National Health Facility mapping (2009/2010) there are 83 registered nurses, 1,100 certified nurses, 19 registered midwives and 132 community certified midwives employed within the healthcare system consisting of a population of more than eight million. I will keep you updated on the project as it develops.

Patients First campaign gets underway
Last month I mentioned the launch of the Patients First campaign which we opened with a press conference in Buswells Hotel in Dublin alongside our partners the Irish Patients Association, Patient Opinion and the Irish Medical Organisation. By now you will be aware of our public meetings, which are being held across the country, to highlight issues regarding safety, standards and staffing. These initial meetings saw the launch of the campaign but further events will be planned into the future. As members you will be asked through your local branch or section to get involved so please make every effort to ‘do your bit’ to ensure the success of the campaign in highlighting issues confronting you as frontline staff and the patients in your care. Look out for regular updates through email, Twitter (@PatientsFirstIE), Facebook (www.facebook.com/PatientsFirstIE), www.inmo.ie and the new Patients First website www.patientsfirst.ie as well as in WIN.

Campaign launch: Pictured at the launch of the Patients First Campaign (l-r): Dr Hillary Dunne, Patient Opinion; Dr John Duddy, Irish Medical Organisation; Stephen McMahon, Irish Patients Association and Claire Mahon

Culturefest
As we go to print our International Section is finalising arrangements for this year’s annual Culturefest where INMO members, and their families, will be treated to an afternoon of celebration, food, dance, cultural presentations and family fun. I would like to thank the organising committee for their continued commitment and hard work on behalf of the Organisation.

Meeting with the Minister for Health
We had our first meeting with Leo Varadkar, the new Minister for Health (pictured right) in September, at which we had an opportunity to discuss the many issues affecting nurses and midwives and patient care. It was a very positive exchange and we have agreed to meet on a regular basis from now on. One of the issues that appeared to be very much to the forefront of the Minister’s mind was the retention of nurses and midwives, which he has recently spoken about publicly. He also mentioned his concerns in relation to increasing trolley figures across the country as being one of his priorities. We welcome this open and frank discussion and look forward to our future exchanges with him.

Get in touch
You can contact me at the INMO headquarters at Tel: 01 6640 600, through the president’s corner on www.inmo.ie or by email to:president@inmo.ie

From the President - On the ground with the president