1. Vaccine prioritisation
There have been several cases reported to us with concerns on vaccine prioritisation and rollout. INMO representatives have raised these issues at individual workplaces and we have also done so at the highest national level.
As a result, Dr. Colm Henry (Chief Clinical Officer) has put a direction to managers across the HSE that patient-facing healthcare workers are to be prioritised in any workplace rollout. You can see that document here – in particular from page 4 on.
2. Five key demands to Government
The Executive Council met recently and called for urgent government intervention in the health service. We are seeking five points of action:
1. Increased safety standards: Upgrade level of PPE in healthcare settings to FFP2 masks and an end to policy allowing asymptomatic close contacts return to work.
2. Private hospital capacity to be fully nationalised into the public system, providing additional beds, and staffing to the service in the coming weeks. Current government plans are to use only a third of this capacity.
3. Childminding provision to allow parents of schoolchildren attend work. This could take the form of partial school reopening for families of healthcare staff or an expansion of after-school care.
4. Healthcare worker vaccination priority, with a latest date set for when all healthcare workers will have received the vaccine.
5. Protections and pay for nursing and midwifery students and interns who are facing high COVID risks on no or unacceptably low pay, in many cases without necessary employment rights and protections.
Since we raised these points on Wednesday, the HSE have agreed to take action on several of them. We confirmed these points in our most recent letter here.
In particular the HSE have agreed to:
• Increase the facemask standard for patient-facing roles to FFP2. You should request this standard of mask in all patient-facing roles immediately
• Increase risk assessment and safety measures for home visits
• Local arrangements can be made to repay time lost due to cancelled leave, missed breaks or lunch
• Advise us of expanded hydration and sustenance provision to workplaces where this has been a problem
• That at least one named manager will be available 24/7 on each site, to ensure decisions can still be made
We will continue to intervene and seek to resolve issues which members have raised.
3. Regulation and current difficulties in practice
The current extreme circumstances many members are in due to COVID presents a substantial risk to best nursing and midwifery practice. The INMO believes it would be manifestly unfair were nurses or midwives held to account by the NMBI for difficulties in practice caused by circumstances which are out of their own control.
To ensure that the COVID context is taken into account by the regulator in any cases, we have secured a statement from the board acknowledging the difficulties in practice currently, and that any issues raised in relation to practice will take into consideration the current circumstances. You see that statement here.
4. Annual Retention Fee payment problems
Members have raised several issues with us in relation to the severe problems they are having in accessing the NMBI’s online system to pay their Annual Retention Fee. Many members have been left on hold for unacceptably long periods, without suitable payment alternatives in place. We have raised these issues repeatedly with NMBI and they have now agreed to extend the deadline from January 31st to February 28th. We are continuing to push the NMBI to increase their resources in this area.