Tag Archives: INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations

As University Hospital Limerick (UHL) achieves a new record-breaking 130 patients on trolleys, a nursing union has claimed the provision of safe and timely care is “impossible”. INMO Assistant Director for Industrial Relations for the Midwest, Mary Fogarty said the latest record, which was reached on Monday, comes as no surprise to her members who have been working in overcrowded and understaffed wards with no reprieve for years on end. “The fact that there are more patients on trolleys across the hospital itself than in the emergency department itself is making the provision of safe and timely care impossible. Patient flow out of the emergency department is proving difficult because of the sheer volume of trolleys across the hospital. “Our members are burnt out and demoralised as a direct result of their working conditions. It is impossible for them to provide safe care in a working environment that is persistently dangerous. “INMO members in the hospital met last week to …

A SITE visit of University Hospital Limerick (UHL) found permissive boarding with beds placed “anytime, anywhere, even and including mixed gender” five months before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new unpublished report has revealed. Serious questions about the model of care being adopted in UHL were highlighted in a draft report – “Review of Unscheduled Care Performance” concerning nine public hospitals, which has been released by the Irish Patients’ Association. Chaired by Prof Tom Keane, former President of the RCSI and joint National Lead Clinical Programme in Surgery, the review team, included external clinical and management expertise from NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government and NHS England. They visited nine public acute hospitals including UHL and Galway University Hospitals from August 16, 2019 to November 18, 2019. Overcrowding continues to be a problem in UHL, with 95 patients on trolleys in the hospital on Wednesday, April 6, which once again was the highest in the country. UHL had 36 …

CLARE patients are facing inordinate waiting times for public hospital treatment as 97 patients are without a bed in University Hospital Limerick on Tuesday, the highest number recorded in any Irish hospital since records began. The INMO has once again called on the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to investigate the overcrowding issue at the hospital. Mary Fogarty, INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations said the current trolley numbers in University Hospital Limerick are extremely concerning. “Time and time again, University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland. “Despite major investment in capacity at the hospital, it is making no dent in the consistent overcrowding problem in the hospital. Overcrowding adds stress for staff and worsens patient care. It is high-risk in normal times, but even more so during a pandemic.” “The INMO is once again calling on HIQA to urgently investigate the overcrowding issue in the hospital and make recommendations. “The patients and nurses at University …

NURSES in the Mid-West could face disciplinary action if they decide to use a safer standard of face mask, a nursing union has claimed. According to the INMO, frontline hospital staff in Limerick, Ennis, Nenagh, and Croom have been told they could face disciplinary action if they upgrade to using a safer standard of face mask. However, this has been disputed by the UL Hospitals’ Group, who stated nothing in the memo restricts staff from wearing FFP2 face masks where appropriate and in line with national infection prevention and control guidelines. It has also emerged the number of health care staff off on Covid-19-related leave increased to 602 on Wednesday last. This figure is subject to change and may increase or decrease later in the week. It includes staff who have tested positive for Covid-19 either through the workplace or community transmission, close contacts of positive cases and staff who are showing symptoms and are staying off work in line …