Pressure across the health service continues to grow. Despite government and HSE insistence that the health service is “coping”, the clear message from the frontlines and the INMO is that pressure is excessive, rosters are depleted due to long term absence and inability to secure replacement normally available via an agency- as many agency staff have been recruited to vaccination centres.
We met with the Acute Hospital division of the HSE at the national director level this week and set out the issues that, in our view can directly be introduced to alleviate this pressure on acute hospitals. We also held an information session with a nurse representative from the INMO Emergency Department section on this very issue, noting that growing attendances and severe staffing problems are increasing more pressure on all aspects of the health service.
We are pushing government and individual workplaces to take steps to ease this pressure, including use of private hospital capacity, reprioritising GPs back to their normal duties, and preparing a proper winter plan for the coming months. INMO Executive Council will meet next Tuesday to consider the response from the HSE and to issue direction to members resulting from same.
In the meantime, 4 updates on other aspects of INMO work:
1. COVID compensation:
The INMO was the first union to seek compensation for members in recognition of their efforts during the waves of this pandemic. As part of the health sector, wider group of trade unions this matter was the subject of proceedings at the Workplace Relation Commission (WRC) on Tuesday.
The employer was represented by the HSE and Dept of Health. They advised that Government had not decided on the issue of compensation, and while there was an understanding that compensation of some kind was not unreasonable the type and amount had not been decided by the Government, and they were therefore not in a position to make an offer. This was a frustrating and disappointing response in the extreme. We have responded that this ongoing inaction is unacceptable. The WRC has requested that the parties reconvene in three weeks’ time and that the employer side have a position to put to the unions at that time. The unions have agreed on this basis to re-engage further through the WRC in pursuit of a fair outcome.
In the meantime, we urge you to contact your locally elected TD and advise of the depth of feeling among frontline HCWs that the government has not offered proper recognition. Many governments all over the world have already compensated frontline HCWs for literally putting their lives on the line during this pandemic. All evidence seen by the INMO is that members have given 150% effort, redeployed, retrained, worked beyond shift allocated times, missed breaks, and felt throughout that they were doing this in an environment of very high risk. They still feel this and are now exhausted, demoralised, and expected to face a fourth wave of pandemic. The government must know that this expectation is extraordinary and taking it for granted is not an option.
2. Let’s talk about it - Podcast for Ireland’s nurses and midwives:
In conjunction with Cornmarket insurance, we have been running an excellent podcast focused on supporting nurses' and midwives’ mental health. The podcast is hosted by a trained nurse, businesswoman, and broadcaster, Norah Casey. INMO members who have been working through this period give a personal testimony and an honest account of what it has been like for them at the frontline, and practical advice is offered by leading mental health experts. Please listen in as this podcast is specifically designed for INMO members based on research via questionnaires you contributed to and interviews with researchers who set out their finding on the podcast.
Episode 3 of “Let’s Talk About It” launched this week, and features ANP and INMO President Karen McGowan, and ID nurse Ann Marie O’Reilly – discussing self-compassion and whether it’s really “ok to just get on with it”.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple or Google podcasts.
3. Science is vital understanding to the origin of SARS-CoV-2
a recent article from the Lancet reiterates the critical importance of scientific inquiry in the fight against COVID-19, stating “Evidence obtained using the scientific method must inform our understanding and be the basis for interpretation of the available information”. Transparent data and rigorous research are the key to intergovernmental collaboration and cooperation to be prepared for any future pandemic.
4. INMO Psychological survey Our follow-up survey on the psychological impact of COVID-19 on nurses and midwives is closing soon, so if you haven’t had your say on this important subject there is still time. The information we gather from the survey will be used to inform the INMO strategy for supporting and representing nurses and midwives, and results will be published as a contribution to the professions' understanding of COVID-19 and its impact on nurses and midwives.