The Health Service Executive (HSE) today condemned what it said was "bullying" from the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) in a dispute involving some senior nursing staff and management at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
The INO claims five assistant directors of nursing, who have been on sick leave for a number of months, have been threatened with disciplinary action when they return to work at the 206-bed hospital.
The organisation argues their absence is stress-related due to the way management dealt with them after they raised a number of complaints regarding the health and safety of staff and patients at the hospital as well as some of their conditions of employment.
However, the HSE said the day the actions of the INO "constituted an attack on the public hospital service which the union would never attempt in the private sector".
According to the HSE, the five assistant directors went on sick leave last year following their refusal to co-operate with an investigation into management difficulties at the hospital. The five who are on full sick pay have been referred to the HSE’s occupational health service.
“The INO see the public hospital system as a soft target and have been seeking to defend the indefensible in a way they would never dare attempt in a private hospital”, said a HSE spokesperson. Sick pay, and payment for replacements for the absent staff, is costing the hospital an estimated €30,000 per month, the HSE said in a statement.
INO members at the hospital passed a vote of no confidence in the general manager and director of nursing at Portiuncula this week, but the HSE described this as being "stage managed" by a "handful" of nurses".
“Far from being a large majority, it was in fact passed by a fraction of the hospital’s nursing staff. It is yet another example of the hypocrisy of the INO leadership who continue to stir up mischief in an individual disciplinary matter in order to pander to a militant minority”, the HSE said.
It was unacceptable the INO should launch a personal attack on two local managers "who had tried to deal with an unprecedented situation," a HSE statement said.
Alan Moran, HSE Acute Hospitals Network Manager, said the health body had full confidence in the general manager and director of nursing "both in their handling of the case and in the general running of the hospital," adding: “We will take all necessary action to protect them against the kind of personal harassment and bullying being conducted by the INO."
Earlier this week, the HSE warned normal services will not be able to continue at the hospital if the INO refuses to allow other nurses to act up in their posts.
The nursing body said it would be willing to accept an offer from the Labour Relations Commission this week for both sides in the dispute to attend exploratory talks.
Nurses yesterday staged lunchtime protest at Portiuncula Hospital as part of the dispute.
