Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last week I raised the chronic shortages of staff across the healthcare sector with the Taoiseach and clearly that is contributing hugely to delays in the system and to the numbers on trolleys. Today the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, reported 669 people on trolleys, and 9,738 so far in February alone. This is clearly not just an issue around weekend cover or workplace practices. What is the plan from Government to ensure that we have increased bed and staff capacity so that people do not have to wait on trolleys? In particular, given the chronic shortage of public health nurses and the serious impact this is having on maternal and infant health, when will the HSE be publishing the report it has commissioned which will apparently provide recommendations to improve recruitment and retention of public health nurses? The INMO has come up with some proposals and we need to see fast tracking of training for community registered nurses and more places for training provided. There is a current shortfall of 600 positions for public health nurses.

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