Nurses at Ennis General are expressing concern about ongoing overcrowding problems and a lack of progress on patient safety reforms.
It follows confirmation from the HSE that extra beds have been re-opened to accommodate a surge in medical admissions over the last few days, which nurses say has brought their in-patient numbers up to 76 – that’s 21 more than provided for since reconfiguration.
In a statement to Clare FM, the HSE says extra beds have been given additional nursing and support staff but the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says no agreement has been reached with staff on this practice.
Mid-West Spokesperson Mary Fogarty says Ennis nurses share similar concerns to those expressed by HIQA in recent days after the Health Watchdog questioned why many of its recommendations have yet to be implemented
