New measures announced by the HSE will see 1,500 nursing jobs be offered to nurses graduating this year, in a palliative effort for the current overcrowding crisis.
Secretary general of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Liam Doran has welcome the move, insisting that he is gravely concerned about the coming winter in light of the growing overcrowding issues.
He said “I always try to be an optimist but I’ve never been as concerned going into a winter period…Overcrowding is getting worse, our staffing levels are very low, our ability to recruit is very limited, the management side and the government have not yet got the fact that they need to make recruitment and retention an absolute priority.”
The announcement comes at a time when the INMO executive are considering balloting nurses for industrial action due to the ongoing crisis.