Louth TD says staff at Drogheda Hospital are "stressed and overworked"

The issue of Staffing Levels at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda was raised by Louth TD Imelda Munster during Dail statements on hospital staffing on Thursday.

Addressing Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, she stated that it had been five years since the final report of the task force on safe staffing and skill mix in Nursing and “we have seen nothing of any improvement whatsoever. In fact, many would argue that the situation is a great deal worse.”

The Sinn Fein deputy described what she said was “a scene of total chaos” in December outside Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda hospital as 11 ambulances queued because there were no trolleys and no beds to take patients into the hospital.

She continued:

“In December, I also stood with staff and protested with them as they highlighted what they described as a third world service caused by lack of resources and capacity in the hospital and I listened to their pleading for more resources.”

“At that time staff told me that there were 60 health and social care professionals vacancy deficits as it is, never mind bringing Our Lady's Hospital in Navan on board. 

“There are 15 to 20 current deficits in clerical and approximately seven in emergency departments alone. There are times where there are only two staff members to cover the night shift. The staff told me that they cannot go on breaks, go for food and, at times, they cannot even get to the bathroom. That is the stage at which they described the service they are providing as a Third World service.”

Deputy Munster said that staff are "so stressed and overworked that, if things do not change, it could end in industrial action."

“They are the last people who want to see that. Such are the stress levels, the staff shortages and the shortages of resources that they may have no choice,” she said.

She concluded:

“When those staff talk to their college friends or former work colleagues who emigrated overseas and hear of the much better conditions there, who can blame some of them for packing it in and leaving?”

In response to statements made by TDs, Minister of State at the Department of Health Hildegarde Naughton said that:

“Legislation is sometimes cited as a solution to the problem of staffing shortages, but very few countries have implemented this as a solution. 

“Of those that have passed legislation, some are struggling to implement it. Two of the main aims of introducing legislation for nurse staffing levels would be to promote patient safety and improve working conditions for nursing staff. 

“The Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Ireland incorporates these principles and goes beyond them to include improving quality of care. Internationally, there is limited evidence available which would justify the need to introduce legislation for safe staffing, whether as an effective solution to addressing recruitment and retention of nurses or otherwise. 

“Recent evidence from the UK relating to tools and systems to determine nurse staffing requirements shows that there are no superior patient classification systems. Instead, the use of measurement tools that are endorsed by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, was recommended. 

“The patient acuity system, which has been used in Ireland for many years, is in line with this NICE recommendation. From the evidence we have, safe staffing policies, such as those used in Ireland, result in more registered nurses at the bedside and these policies have a clear and positive impact on patient and nursing staff outcomes.”

She continued:

“The Government continues to invest in order to reduce the amount of time people are waiting for important hospital appointments and procedures. 

“In 2022, some €350 million was allocated to the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund to primarily provide additional public and private activity to further stabilise and reduce scheduled care waiting lists and waiting times in tandem with bringing forward much-needed longer-term reforms. For 2023, this investment has increased to €363 million. 

“Some €123 million funding was allocated to the HSE in budget 2023. This will be made available on a recurring basis to ensure the reforms deliver sustained reductions in waiting lists and ensure we achieve the strategic Sláintecare maximum wait time targets. 

She concluded:

“The Government has invested record sums in our health service. This has been used to boost permanent capacity, which is key to helping us tackle our waiting lists. Our workforce has grown by over 18,000 - doctors, nurses, midwives and therapists - since the beginning of 2020.”