A new national campaign seeking ‘safety, standards and staffing' for the Irish public health service has been launched.

Patients First is made up of a number of organisations involved with the health service, including the Irish Patients' Association (IPA), the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

The campaign has a number of core goals including:
-Stability for the health system through adequate funding in the Budget
-Safe staffing levels based on patient need
-Legislated requirements to publicly display daily staffing levels with regard to patient dependency requirements

"This campaign is about patients, their families and friends. It is for all of us who care about our public health service so that we can present, to our public representatives, a coherent demand for change, an end to cuts and contraction, and a sustained commitment from all political parties to protect and develop our health service so that it provides safe standards, safe care and safe staffing in all situations," commented campaign lead, Stephen McMahon, of the IPA.

The campaign will be holding a number of public meetings nationwide, beginning in Limerick today (September 16). Public representatives are invited to these meetings and according to Patients First, this will allow them ‘to hear first hand' people's experiences of the Irish health system and what patients want over the next five years.

Today's meeting will take place in the South Court Hotel in Limerick at 7pm. A second meeting will be held in the Clayton Hotel in Galway on Wednesday (September 17) at 7.30pm.

These meetings will continue nationwide until October 8. Other locations will include Dublin, Cork and Donegal.

For more information on the meetings or the work of this campaign, click here