UL Hospitals Group has defended its recent recruitment performance as nurses and midwives are being balloted for industrial action.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is balloting around 1,000 of its members on site, who it says are frustrated by high nurse vacancy rates and other related issues.
The INMO began balloting members yesterday (Wednesday) over, what it calls, the refusal of hospital management to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission.
The organisation states that members concerns include risks to patients, overcrowding and excessive workloads due to unfilled funded nursing posts.
A statement from UL Hospitals Group defends its staff turnover and vacancy rate, saying that local recruitment campaigns are ongoing and that they’re “offering positions to successful candidates on a weekly basis”.
The Group says that 130 staff nurses were recruited until the end of July in 2020 so far.
The statement also highlights that all current student nurses and midwives graduating from the University of Limerick have been offered permanent contracts, and that 150 nurses from overseas are being recruited on a phased basis from December 2020.
UL Hospitals Group also says it’s disappointed that this ballot for industrial action comes at a time when cases of Covid-19 continue to rise.
