INO says 'roads' funds should go to health

MONEY EARMARKED for infrastructure projects such as roads should, if necessary, be transferred to maintain public health services, the Irish Nurses’ Organisation said yesterday.

INO general secretary Liam Doran said the Health Service Executive (HSE) faced having to implement cutbacks of between €500 million and €1.2 billion this year which could threaten the very fabric of the health service.

The HSE had acknowledged that the next round of cuts of €70 million in the coming weeks would impact on frontline services, he said.

In this context the Government should realise that it was not sensible “to continue to spend money on roads to bypass towns when the people living in those towns can’t access basic elements of a health service”.

“We are in a society and a community, first of all, and if we have to delay spending on infrastructure projects so that we maintain essential public services then so be it,” he said.

The INO is to place on its website details supplied by patients of their experiences in hospitals or healthcare facilities, including video clips dealing with issues such as overcrowding, long queues and staff shortages.

The organisation yesterday announced a new “cutback watch” aimed at highlighting the effects of cutbacks on staff and patients. The campaign on the web will allow patients and their families to post comments and to record where they experience cutbacks.

The INO said that it wanted to highlight closed beds, staff shortages and specific areas where patients were suffering such as cases where services were cut or where there were delays in securing treatment. The “cutbacks watch” facility could be accessed through the INO’s website, www.ino.ie, or through a new website, www.stophealthcuts.ie

Mr Doran said that prior to placing clips recorded by patients on the website, the INO would vet material for accuracy and block out faces. He said that patient confidentiality would be maintained.

He said that the INO was not asking patients to supply material but that it would facilitate those who wished to share their own stories and experiences.

He said this could involve patients or their families telling services how they could do things better. However, he said that individual names would not be mentioned on the site.

The HSE, which has strict rules governing filming within hospitals and which has previously strongly criticised unauthorised filming in its facilities, did not comment yesterday. It said it was examining the INO statement.

The INO also said it would produce a freepost postcard for patients and families who wished to comment about their experience. It said that these would be delivered in bulk to Minister for Health Mary Harney.

The INO also yesterday published guidelines for members faced with cutbacks. It said that the priority should be to maintain safe standards of care, the maximum number of jobs and to maintain all negotiated pay rates including allowances and premium payments.

The INO said it had been involved in attempts with other unions to negotiate an accord with HSE management before Christmas aimed at saving over €200 million this year, but that it was impossible to negotiate savings of over €1 billion.

Nurses' warning

Nurses have warned general practitioners that they face a hard battle if they seek to implement pay cuts for their practice staff.

The Irish Nurses’ Organisation yesterday said there had been a number of cases where GPs had sought to reduce pay rates for practice nurses employed in their surgeries.

INO deputy general secretary Dave Hughes said GPs who worked as contractors in the general medical services scheme received substantial subsidies from the State for employing practice nurses.

However, the nurses concerned were private sector staff employed by the general practitioner.

Mr Hughes said the INO wanted to send out a strong message to GPs who sought to take advantage of the current downturn to reduce pay levels where no business case existed that they would face a hard battle with the INO.

He said the INO had received details of about a half dozen cases where GPs had sought to reduce pay for practice nurses. He said that in some cases the GPs had proposed to cut pay by up to 10 per cent.

Mr Hughes described the pay cut plan as “completely opportunistic” by GPs given that they had “highly subsidised” key workers who also provided services for private patients.