ULHG Statement on ICU Industrial Dispute

SAFE care for our ICU patients is our highest priority and continues to be delivered at UHL. We are working with our colleagues in the INMO to ensure that this remains the case.

We wish to reassure members of the public that any patient admitted to the Intensive Care Unit or High Dependency Unit will be cared for in a compassionate and safe manner and where patient needs will remain at the centre of care delivery. We continue to operate 12 ICU beds and 16 HDU beds in the Critical Care Block.

Intensive care nurses are in high demand globally. In spite of vacant shifts in the ICU nursing roster in recent months, agreed standards of care in the ICU, which requires one-to-one care, have at all times been maintained. We are working closely with the INMO to ensure that this remains the case for the duration of this dispute.

Specific engagement with the INMO around ICU staffing levels commenced in February and we have been meeting with the trade union on a fortnightly basis since March 27th in an attempt to resolve this dispute. There has also been engagement and consultation through the Nurse Union Management Forum(NUMF) meeting, which comes under the auspices of the Advisory Services of the Workplace Relations Commission.

While this industrial action is a matter of regret, we remain available to engage with the INMO to come to a mutually agreed solution at the earliest possible point.

Recruitment of ICU nurses is an international issue and the INMO has acknowledged the efforts made by ULHG to secure staffing through bespoke national and international recruitment campaigns. These campaigns have enjoyed some success in spite of the challenging recruitment environment. These efforts are ongoing and continue to attract nurses to the area of critical care.

A job in the ICU remains very much sought after by new nursing graduates, a number of whom have expressed interest in working in the unit and will commence in the final quarter of this year. There is a very robust training programme for ICU nurses new to the unit where they are supported by six clinical educators who are of great benefit to our patients and staff alike.