Significant moves have been made to try to address the situation faced by student nurses, preferably before this year’s cohort of fourth year students begin their professional careers after Christmas.
Both unions are focusing their argument on the current nursing staff shortages being experienced in the health service. On Friday, USI published a survey that revealed how student nurses are still planning to leave Ireland upon graduation rather than staying to work in Irish hospitals. An overwhelming 93 per cent of a sample of 600 said they “thought about emigrating when they qualify as a nurse”. In a press release, Kevin O’Donoghue, USI President, said: “Many student nurses feel a better life awaits them abroad”.
Daniel Waugh, Campaigns Officer of the USI told The University Times via email that the union is “currently conducting research” to “pin-point the issues student nurses and midwives are facing” with the aim of “eventually” publishing a report with which to “drive the campaign forward” and “garner significant national, local and student media attention”.
Waugh also explained that USI has recently been collaborating with students’ unions across the country to coordinate the report, which he hopes will become “the cornerstone” of this year’s campaign and those in the future.
Despite this collaboration, USI is yet to meet with the INMO. Waugh stated: “I’m currently awaiting a meeting with the INMO but I am constantly being re-scheduled”.
Meanwhile, Dean Flanagan, Student Officer of INMO, spoke to The University Times via telephone about the recent proposals his organisation have put to the HSE in relation to the internship issue. Flanagan explained that, due to it being a public service agreement, they have been unable to bring the case forward directly on the pay issue and acknowledged that their attempts have been “somewhat slow”.
Flanagan urged students to express their concerns to politicians, especially with the period being in the run-up to national elections. He praised the initiative of students like Aoife-Martha Kiernan, who began the “Equality for Student Nurses and Midwives” campaign, and applauded the Head of Department at NUIG for “pledging to support Aoife in any way”.
When asked if he had heard of Trinity staff supporting students in similar ways he replied: “I haven’t had much experience with the staff in Trinity”.
The aim of the INMO campaign is to highlight how improving interns’ experiences will help to discourage them from emigrating. Ending this emigration, the INMO argues, will end the nursing shortage facing Ireland. Despite incentives to encourage nurses home, numbers returning have been very low. Additionally, more than one thousand nurses are due to retire from the health service between now and June. INMO General Secretary Liam Doran has said that the overcrowding situation in hospitals is due to the staff shortages, outlining that, while the extra beds should be opened, there are not adequate staff to service them.
Flanagan has expressed a lack of confidence in the impending HSE decision, due sometime before Christmas, that it will not be the response the unions and students are hoping for, saying: “I wouldn’t say I’m entirely confident, but I am confident that the students are prepared to really take action”.
Elaborating on the action he expects from students, he stated: “We’re going to have the student population ready for a national demo and if things still aren’t moving we will have to…ballot fourth years for strike action. Because it’s such a serious issue this may be the line we’ll have to go down.”
