'Letterkenny nurses are exceptional in the care they provide, despite challenges'
A HIQA report on Letterkenny University Hospital identified risks in the emergency department, particularly in relation to overcrowding
TD Charles Ward has said that despite the many challenges that nurses in Letterkenny University Hospital face, they are exceptional in the care they provide.
The Donegal Deputy was referring to the recent HIQA report on Letterkenny University Hospital where risks were identified in the emergency department, particularly in relation to overcrowding.
Despite this however, the report stated that nurses were observed to be “courteous, attentive and respectful” in their interactions with patients and maintained a “calm and reassuring presence despite the pressures of a busy department and long waiting times.”
"This is consistent with the many reports I hear about Letterkenny Hospital and with my own experience there two weeks ago, the nurses were fantastic," Deputy Ward stated.
The 100% Redress Party leader said: "The theme of this International Nurses Day is 'Empowered Nurses Save Lives,' and we can only empower nurses if they have safe and fair work environments.
"At last week’s INMO annual conference, an emergency medicine nurse, who worked in Letterkenny Hospital for 22 years, described how she left due to the stress, anxiety and the physical demands of the job. She said she would go back “in a heartbeat” if her health were not so damaged. She was one nurse potentially looking after 30 to 40 patients in a busy emergency department.
"These types of shifts are very physically hard, with staff on their feet for up to 13 hours, it also takes a significant mental toll when staff feel as though they are unable to care for patients as quickly as they would like. This is not empowering nurses. This is pushing them to the brink until they can physically and mentally do no more. More than three-fifths of nurses and midwives said they considered leaving their job in the past month. We must support these nurses to stay in their jobs.’
He also voiced his support for striking ambulance workers stating that the HSE’s failure to update ambulance workers’ pay scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workloads over the last 20 years, was “shocking”.