Campaign advocating for recruitment of 100 neurological nurses
People Before Profit have declared their support for the Patients Deserve Better campaign which is advocating for the recruitment of 100 neurological nurses. The Patients Deserve Better group is a campaign for additional neurological nurses to deal with what was described at the launch as their “critical resource issues”.
The campaign has outlined why the government needs to recruit an additional 100 neurological nurses to bring the national number to the recommended 142 nurses needed nationwide. 800,000 people in Ireland are living with a neurological condition. That’s people with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, and other serious conditions.
The campaigners have outlined how there are close to 24,000 people on the public waiting lists for neurological outpatient care. 8,600 of those people have been waiting over 18 months.
Recruitment of the additional nurses required is crucial to reducing the current waiting lists.
According to the Neurological Nurses Alliance, Dublin alone needs an additional 57 nurses. For example;
- St James’ has 4 neurological nurses – it needs 14 – a shortfall of 10
- Tallaght has 3.5 nurses, it needs 20 – a shortfall of 17
Bríd Smith TD said yesterday in the Dáil: “Neurological nurses play crucial clinical roles, and in providing advice, counselling and education support. But a speaker at the launch spoke of how the one neurological nurse in her hospital isn’t available for public patients.
“I fully support the Patients Deserve Better campaign and I call on the Government to urgently recruit the additional 100 neurological nurses we need.”
