INMO balloting for Industrial Action

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is set to ballot its members for industrial action due to major gaps in the nursing and midwifery workforce. These staffing shortages, particularly in areas like cancer, palliative, paediatric, and rehabilitation care, are putting immense pressure on healthcare professionals and compromising patient care. As a healthcare recruitment agency, Clarity Locums understands the critical need to address this issue promptly to ensure the system functions effectively.

The INMO has highlighted numerous instances where vacant positions are going unfilled, often due to the HSE’s unofficial recruitment ban. This has led to increased demands on existing staff, including working unpaid overtime and being called in on days off. According to INMO President Caroline Gourley, these conditions are unsustainable, and nurses and midwives are being put at risk as they try to cope with understaffing. Despite a framework for safe nurse staffing, many crucial roles are not being filled, particularly temporary vacancies like those left by maternity leave​.

As Clarity Locums recognises, these staffing challenges also create opportunities for agency nurses and midwives to step in and support overstretched healthcare teams. With the upcoming ballot, there is likely to be an even greater demand for agency staff to fill these critical gaps and maintain continuity of care. Recruitment agencies like Clarity Locums play a vital role in connecting healthcare facilities with skilled professionals during this challenging time.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha emphasised the dire situation, noting that the recruitment freeze is resulting in a "postcode lottery" for essential services, particularly in maternity, oncology, and palliative care across hospitals like University Hospital Limerick, Wexford General, and Cork University Hospital. The extended delays in filling posts, sometimes taking up to twelve months, are putting a strain on the entire health system​

For healthcare providers, ensuring patient safety through adequate staffing is crucial, and Clarity Locums is ready to support by providing the necessary locum staff to fill these critical roles, especially as the health service faces a difficult winter.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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