Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In recent days the Taoiseach has sought to pit nurses against nurses by claiming that student nurses are being exploited by other nurses on hospital wards. That statement is simply not true. The reality is that student nurses are plugging the gaps in a health system that is under severe pressure. Student nurses do amazing work. The Tánaiste has worked in hospitals and I am sure he has seen that at first hand.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is crystal clear on the issue. It notes that it is no use pitting nurses against nurses, whether they are in training or not. Phil Ní Sheaghdha, the INMO general secretary, recently stated:

Our students are being taken for granted. They are facing huge workloads and risking Covid infection. And while they are doing indispensable work, they are getting no financial recognition for their efforts.

She went on to state:

Extra work, serious risk, and other sources of income being cut: student nurses and midwives are getting a raw deal. It is beyond time to respect their contribution and pay them. The message is simple: stop exploiting student nurses and midwives.

The Tánaiste can see that the INMO is very clear on this issue. It is not nurses who are exploiting nurses, they are being exploited by the system.

The Taoiseach also said that he wanted examples of student nurses performing specific duties. Let me recount one of the many examples that we in Sinn Féin have received from student nurses in recent days. One nurse, Marie, contacted us to say:

As a first-year nurse, I would work all morning getting patients washed, showered and dressed alone, as there was often no healthcare assistants. Then I had to record vital signs for a whole ward, which was usually up to 30 patients.

In second year I remember one specific time, after a patient of ours sadly passed away, we had to get the patient ready for the family to see them. I washed the patient with the nurse, cleaned his face, dressed him in a new gown and lay him out comfortably so he looked peaceful and ready for his family. That was my first time of many doing that. I carried on with the rest of my day, caring for other patients. I drove home that night in silence.

Marie goes on to say:

I remember in third year dealing with a patient who had a major haemorrhage on the general medical ward, that was waiting for a bed to open in ICU. The patient went into cardiac arrest. I ran for the crash cart. I alerted the nurse's station to call the cardiac team and I did chest compressions to try and keep the patient alive. The patient, unfortunately, died. I drove home in silence that night and couldn't talk to my mother.

Is any of that not real work? That is what student nurses are asking. In particular, they are asking that of the Taoiseach following the comments he made.

The Taoiseach indicated that a review is under way. I had a look back at the replies given by the Minister for Health to questions on this issue. In October, he responded to a parliamentary question by stating that the review would be concluded in the coming days. It is now the middle of December. Why has it taken so long for this issue to be addressed? It is one that must be addressed.

If any additional payments are to be made to student nurses and midwives, will they be backdated to the beginning of the new academic year? Could the Tánaiste respond to the student nurses who may be watching, to other nurses on the wards and to the people who genuinely believe that this exploitation of student nurses must come to an end? Will the Government reverse its decision and ensure that they are properly remunerated?

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