15 December 2011

Attn: All INMO Members

From:    Liam Doran, General Secretary

Dear Colleague

Following the recent budget statements, including the health service allocation for 2012, the INMO has sought an immediate meeting with the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly TD, to discuss a number of critical issues which now arise.

In broad terms the government has stated that the allocation for the health service, for 2012, will be reduced by €543 million and that overall employment numbers must reduce by a further 3,000 before the end of next year.

Against this background the INMO is seeking, from the Minister, further clarification on a range of issues including:

• what is the government’s policy in relation to the protection of frontline services, arising from the retirements which will take place before 29th February 2012?
• what changes to the current recruitment moratorium are envisaged, for nursing/midwifery and other frontline posts, arising from the current shortage of staff, particularly nursing and midwifery, and the implications for the safe delivery of care as enunciated, in the recent past, by, for example, the Master in the Rotunda Hospital?
• is the government willing, under its policy approach for 2012, to discuss the introduction of a post-qualification employment initiative, for nursing and midwifery, which will assist in addressing the critical shortage of nursing and midwifery posts, arrest the haemorrhage of these newly qualified professionals to other countries and assist with our manpower planning for the medium term?
• is the government prepared, again under the policies underpinning the 2012 allocation, to actually implement significant reform, of the role of the nurse and midwife, which would see, in return for protection with regard to the recruitment moratorium, a greatly expanded role, at ward/unit level, resulting in less reliance upon non consultant hospital doctors and much greater utilisation of nurse/midwife led services?
• what measures will exist, again within the policies underpinning next years allocation, to ensure that the senior nurse/midwifery manager is empowered to protect safe standards of care, and safe practice by nurses and midwives, in order to prevent the difficulties indentified, in the Mid-Staffordshire Trust in the United Kingdom, when targets were given absolute priority over standards and best practice?

The INMO will be pressing for the earliest possible engagement, with the Minister, on these and related issues, as the current uncontrolled, and unmanaged, downsizing of frontline services cannot continue unchecked.

In addition to seeking these clarifications the INMO will, in the coming weeks, be initiating a campaign, around maintaining safe practice, through the provision of local information workshops, tools and guidelines for safe practice and information surrounding recording clinical risk.

A further update will issue, following the meeting with the Minister, and in the interim all members are asked to monitor the INMO website (www.inmo.ie) for further information on this very important issue.

Yours sincerely


_____________________
LIAM DORAN
General Secretary


Click here for Press Release and  Letter to Dr. James Reilly, TD, Minister for Health, Re: Health Allocation 2012 from INMO Executive Council