Student nurses and midwives are to have their placements cancelled for two weeks, according to a decision by the Department of Health tonight (Saturday).
Nursing and midwifery students in the first three years of their degree go on “supernumerary placement”, which is unpaid. This has been cancelled for two weeks, with specific exemptions for some children’s nursing students in the fourth year.
The affected students will not have to repay this placement time later in order to qualify. The Department has stated that these students will not be offered temporary healthcare assistant contracts over this period, as they were earlier in the pandemic.
Final-year students in their internship will continue to work over the coming two weeks, but the INMO has sought clarity and requested that their pay is increased to the healthcare assistant grade, as it was in March.
The union says that this would better reflect the workload and risk those final-year interns face.
INMO student representatives will meet to discuss the plans and set out their reactions.
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said:
This is a last-minute decision and further clarity is needed. Students have been put in incredibly risky situations with no pay and weakened protections.
Those interns who are being asked to continue working need to be valued properly. Earlier in the pandemic, their pay was increased to take account of the risks and workload they faced. The Minister should do the right thing and reinstate that policy.
The INMO is a member-led union. We will discuss this issue with our student representatives urgently and decide the next steps.
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