Safety of healthcare workers must be prioritised - INMO

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) needs to be better resourced to enhance the safety of nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to INMO president, Karen McGowan, the HSA has done “phenomenal work” transforming workplace safety in the agriculture and construction industries. However, it needs to be given adequate resources if it is to achieve the same results in healthcare.

She pointed out that nurses and midwives provide vital services to patients, but in doing so, they face many challenges and hazards that can put their health and safety at risk, such as exposure to infectious diseases and physical injuries.

“As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic, it is important to look back. Twenty-three healthcare workers tragically lost their lives because of Covid-19 and thousands of healthcare workers contracted what was an unknown virus in the line of their work. Hundreds of my healthcare colleagues are still paying the price as they continue to deal with the symptoms of long Covid,” Ms McGowan commented.

She said during the pandemic, nurses and midwives put themselves in situations “where we did not know the outcome in order to put our patients first”.

“As we reflect on workplace injuries today, many of my colleagues and I will ask ourselves, knowing what we know now would we do it again? Can we say that our safety in the workplace has improved? The HSA must act on the unsafe conditions our healthcare workers are working in and patients are presenting to,” she insisted.

Ms McGowan made her comments at the national commemorative event for Workers’ Memorial Day, which remembers workers who have lost their lives or suffered injuries during the course of their work.

“Let us remember our colleagues who were taken from us too soon and reaffirm our commitment to workplace safety. We all share a common goal - creating safer workplaces for all workers. The sacrifice of those whose lives were lost or careers cut short because of injury or assault at work should serve as a reminder to us all to remain vigilant and proactive in advocating for the protection of workers' rights and wellbeing,” she added.