Health Science students and researchers gathered to protest study and working conditions in front of the Dining Hall at Front Square on November 20th at 1 pm. College, the HSE and Government came under criticism for a lack of action in response to the needs of Health Science students, with the placement conditions of student nurses featuring heavily.
Protesters held a variety of signs some of which read ‘Australia looks good right?’, ‘Pay All PHDs’, ‘Cá Bhfuil Ár Meas’, ‘13 hour shifts: Nothing to show’, ‘Training Us To Leave’ and ‘Fund Us’. Students present at the protests spoke of the frustration they felt at consistently being ignored by College, the HSE and Government.
Fi Vives Lynch, a 4th year Children’s and General Nursing Student commented “I’m tired of not being able to live my life because I can’t afford groceries because I have to spend my money to get to Wicklow on a placement that wasn’t even paid for. I’m tired of getting up at two in the morning and risking my life on dangerous streets of Dublin just so I can get to a placement on time.”
Among the main frustrations of students was the unpaid nature of student placements.
“We are tired of being told we are not staff, we don’t deserve any rights when we are grinding our teeth, helping with the understaffing crisis the hospitals are facing and being told we’re not staff but still being expected to pick up the slack,” said Lynch.
Protestors expressed a general feeling that College had abandoned students and was not willing to defend their interests to Government. Lynch cited the building of the €2.2 billion National Children’s Hospital as an example of the inappropriate use of available funds that should be directed toward ensuring fair pay for nurses commenting: “You can have a hospital but you don’t have anyone to care for your patients if you don’t have the staff to do it.”
Lara Rios Heffernan, a 4th year Children and General Nursing Student also present at the protest echoed Lynch’s view on the treatment of student nurses on placement ‘‘We are students, we’re on the wards to learn but we’re treated as staff and that doesn’t come with a lot of learning opportunities as well. Sometimes we’re sent out to certain placements and certain hospitals that are really low staffed and you’re treated as a healthcare assistant when you are a student nurse.”
Heffernan felt that conditions for student nurses were getting worse: “My lecturer told us she was paid £120 a week. We were given €100 a week for placement during Covid. That was for two 13-hour shifts and a 10-hour shift per week.” In April-August 2020 student nurses were paid as healthcare assistants due to the Covid-19 crisis in hospitals. Since then, apart from a continuous placement students complete in the final year of their studies, placements are unpaid. Accommodation for students on placement and transport allowances were also issues raised by protestors.
Among the demands the protestors have of College are increased financial support for uniform costs, mental health supports, a student cafeteria and improving college accessibility and shower maintenance. Protestors are also calling for equal support to be granted to postgraduates and undergraduates and an increase in library opening hours. Trinity College Dublin Students Union has committed to delivering testimonials of the experiences of Health Science students to the Provost and the head of the Health Sciences Faculty.
