Nurses in St. John’s Hospital Limerick to Commence Industrial Action

Nurses at St. John’s Hospital will begin industrial action in the form of a work to rule from 8am on November 23rd until further notice.

INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Mary Fogarty said: 

INMO members will begin industrial action in St. John’s Hospital from tomorrow morning following failed local engagement related to nursing workloads caused by persistent short staffing. St. John’s Hospital is an eighty-nine bed hospital and there are over thirty nursing vacancies. The pressure this is placing on our members is exceptional and they have articulated very clearly to management that it is having a significant impact on the safety of patients attending the hospital and their own well-being in the workplace. 

The inability of management at St. John’s Hospital to recognise the impact substantial nursing vacancies are having on our members and their failure to curtail services to safer limits to match the availability of nurses has compounded the dispute.  

INMO members want to make it clear to their employer and the HSE that they are not willing to deal with the consequences of allowing short-staffing to persist in their workplace and for it to deteriorate further because of the HSE recruitment freeze. INMO members will only carry out core nursing duties in the hospital at this time.

This is not a decision that INMO members in St. John’s Hospital have taken lightly but because of the staffing restriction they cannot provide safe care therefore they are left with no option but to ensure the nursing care of their patients is prioritised.

Notes to Editors:

The work to rule will encompass the following -

• Routine clerical administration duties will not be undertaken by nurses.
• INMO members will not attend meetings except clinical meetings, or meetings with families of patients.
• Weekly putting away of pharmacy stores will not be undertaken by nurses.
• Routine trips to pharmacy for collection of drugs will not be undertaken by nurses.
• Nurses will not move beds except for IP&C or MAU needs.
• Cordless phones will not be utilised except one phone for IP&C and Bed Management.
• Pre-assessments for endoscopy and day ward patients will not be undertaken by day ward nurses.
• Routine overruns in theatres will not be staffed by INMO members, the last patient must be in recovery in the day ward by 3pm and by 4pm in main theatre.
• Routine cleaning and disposal of waste in the theatres will not be undertaken by INMO members.