The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said Government must not miss the opportunity to underpin safe nurse and midwife staffing through legislation when considering the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill.
This legislation is an opportunity to enshrine the requirement for safe nurse and midwife staffing levels as a legal requirement, which will protect patients, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.
The INMO has made submissions to the Minister for Health and the previous Minister that the only way to ensure that safe nurse or midwife to patient ratios are met is to compel hospitals to ensure that wards are staffed correctly.
Underpinning nurse and midwife staffing with legislation is the norm in many countries, such as Australia, where Irish nurses are in high demand. If the State is serious about retaining the nurses and midwives that we have but also attracting nurses and midwives home to Ireland then ensuring that staffing levels form part of this landmark legislation will be required.
Currently, HIQA lacks the authority to enforce improvements in general hospital settings. There is no sanction for hospitals who do not meet sufficient staffing or safety standards. Expanding the powers and resources of HIQA to enforce patient safety standards in hospitals is completely necessary and welcome.
Nurses and midwives have made it clear that staffing deficits are impacting their ability to provide safe and timely care. Underpinning safe staffing levels with legislation is the only way to make sure hospitals comply with HIQA recommendations on inadequate staffing.