THE IRISH Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called on the Health Service Executive (HSE) to carry out an external review into the high absenteeism rates at Ennis General Hospital.
Industrial relations officer with the INMO, Mary Fogarty, confirmed the request as new figures from the HSEs internal reporting system, Healthstat showed that Ennis General Hospital has the worst absenteeism rate among the 28 hospitals evaluated for the second month running in June.
The latest figures available show that the overall absenteeism rate at Ennis General is just shy of 8 per cent.
The figures show that 8 per cent or 13 of the hospital's 102 nurses were out sick at any one time during the month of June.
Ms Fogarty said: "At a recent meeting with the HSE, we requested an external review as to why the absenteeism rates at Ennis are so high.
"We want to know why the absenteeism rates are so high where 30 miles down the road at Croom hospital, the absenteeism rates are amongst the lowest in the country."
Ms Fogarty said that the "very low morale" among nurses working at Ennis hospital may be connected to the high absenteeism rates.
She said: "There is a culture at the hospital where the nurses feel undervalued; that what they say doesn't count. That is part of the problem.
She revealed that the HSE turned down the request for the external review of absenteeism rates at Ennis.
Ms Fogarty said: "I believe that an external review is the starting point for addressing the absenteeism rates."