PSYCHIATRIC NURSES in Dublin North have said they will restart industrial action next week following the withdrawal of back-up mental health staff from January 1st.
The Psychiatric Nurses Association yesterday issued the Health Service Executive with notice of its intention to take industrial action from 8am on Wednesday January 11th, a move which would affect Dublin North mental health services, including St Ita’s psychiatric hospital in Portrane.
Michael Guilfoyle, association secretary at St Ita’s, said that its members had been left with no other choice as the removal of “additional hours” and agency staff had left the service in a critical state.
He said, that on Tuesday alone, four people in the Dublin North area, two of whom had displayed thoughts of suicide, had their appointments cancelled due to the lack of staff.
He said what was happening now in terms of staffing was at variance with agreements reached in August at the Labour Relations Commission.
Mr Guilfoyle also said the ban on additional hours and agency staff to support mental health services in the area had been implemented “without discussion or engagement to provide basic care and safety within this service”.
The initial industrial action will take the form of an administrative work to rule, including a ban on answering telephones.
Mr Guilfoyle said any action taken would not impact on patient care.
A HSE spokeswoman said last night that the executive intends to arrange a meeting with the association to explore options to resolve the current dispute.
Meanwhile, Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch, has welcomed the reopening of Unit 3B in St Brendan’s Hospital, Grangegorman, Dublin.
The unit, the closure of which caused controversy in December when five long-term patients were moved from an open ward to a low security unit over the Christmas period, was due to reopen on January 16th. However, this has now taken place a fortnight earlier.
“I am delighted that Unit 3B has reopened,” Ms Lynch said.