Duffy: Urgent need to address serious shortage of nurses

Sinn Féin Councillor Sandra Duffy has said the Health Minister must bring forward a plan to address the shortage of frontline health workers.

The Health service has been stretched to its full capacity since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic with many members of staff working above and beyond to help patients.

However, the strain has taken its toll upon nurses with 575 leaving their jobs between June and October this year.

Cllr Duffy, who represents the Ballyarnett ward and is also Sinn Féin's local Health spokesperson said: “Between June and October this year, 575 nurses have left their jobs in the health service – that’s deeply concerning.

“Nurses have been under pressure for years now and that has only increased during the pandemic. They are overworked and underpaid and that needs to change.

“The 575 nurses that have left haven’t been redeployed into other areas of the health service, resulting in a huge loss of frontline workers.

“The Minister of Health must immediately bring forward a plan to address this very serious capacity shortage in the health and social care system.

“We know that in a recent appeal, over 30,000 people applied to work in health and social care and only 4936 new appointments were made.

“Given this crisis, I am urging the Department of Health to revisit the large number of applications and to fill posts immediately so that we can begin taking the pressure off our frontline healthcare staff.”

In response, the Department of Health said that while current vacancy rates were presenting a major challenge, they had been able to call upon experienced staff via the Workforce Appeal and have recruited 1000 international nurses.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “The nursing and midwifery professions are experiencing intense pressure as staff continue to deal with the impact of Covid 19 while facing what may be one of the most difficult winters the service has ever seen.

“The Health Minister and the Department are very grateful for their ongoing contribution and dedication to patient care.

“Current vacancy rates are presenting a major challenge to the system as a whole. This is a situation that has developed over many years and the Department is addressing it in a number of ways, both short and long term.

“A Regional Retention Initiative for Nurses and Midwives is now underway, with a steering group comprising a wide range of key stakeholders including the Department’s workforce policy and nursing, HSC employers, nurses and midwives, and Trade Union/Staff Side representatives. They are collaborating to co-produce a strategic retention plan.

“In terms of immediate action, we have been able to call on a reservoir of experienced staff through the ongoing Workforce Appeal.

“In addition, nearly 1000 international nurses have been recruited, who are contributing to the HSC every day.

“Since 2015/16 the annual number of pre-registration nursing and midwifery university places commissioned by the Department has increased by nearly 87 per cent, from 710 to an all-time high in 2021/22 of 1325.

“This is a hugely significant investment in the workforce of tomorrow. The 2022/23 academic year will see the commencement of training of the final cohort of 300 of the 900 additional nursing and midwifery pre-registration training places, as set out in New Decade, New Approach.

“Cumulatively, this combination of short term measures and sustained investment, is designed to ensure that HSC Trusts have the nursing and midwifery workforce to continue to deliver safe and effective services.”