€25M Granted To Recruit Almost 900 Nurses

Thursday, 4 May 2023 09:39

By Caoimhe Harney

The news comes as nurses warn that patient safety is being endangered because of unsafe staffing levels

Some €25 million in funding has been granted for 854 additional nursing posts, to fully implement the Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skillmix in all acute hospitals nationally.

The Framework is an evidence-based approach to ensure there are enough nurses in acute hospital settings, including Emergency Departments (ED), with the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and quality care to patients.

The news comes as nurses warned yesterday that patient safety is being endangered because of overstretched and unsafe staffing levels on hospital wards.

Seven in ten nurses surveyed said quality of care is being put at risk “very often or always” because of inadequate staff numbers to provide proper cover.

The findings emerged in a survey by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) in advance of the union’s annual conference in Killarney on Wednesday.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly commented: “2020, 2021 and 2022 have seen the biggest staff increases since the HSE was established, and we want to do more.

"We have been implementing the Framework for Safe Staffing since 2020. We started in our bigger hospitals and are now seeing the benefits. We will now move to implement this policy in all acute hospitals this year."

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