SIPTU members of the nursing staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth, will consider proposals from management which are aimed at securing an agreed solution to a dispute concerning staffing levels at the facility. SIPTU Organiser, John McCamley, said: “Our members have demanded an emergency plan be put in place by management at the hospital to assess the clinical and safety risks on each of the wards on a day by day basis. Members have also raised concerns regarding the recruitment and retention of staff, governance structures on the wards as well as a dependency on agency staff and overtime to fill vacancies. “SIPTU representatives have brought the issue of the failure to fill nursing vacancies at the hospital to the Workplace Relations Commission following a breakdown in negotiations with management.” He added: “While SIPTU members of the nursing staff accept that there has been some movement by management in the hospital regarding a range of issues, they have raised concerns that the proposals may not go far enough to deal with substantial problems around bed capacity and other concerns. “We have written to management seeking more details on its proposals. On receipt of a revised document, SIPTU members will then decide if the proposals go far enough to bridge the gap between the parties”.
SIPTU nurses in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital consider proposals to deal with staffing crisis
