Vol. 549 No. 1
162 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the report on nursing in Tralee General Hospital, County Kerry, compiled by a company (details supplied); if he will publish the report; the steps he will take on foot of its findings and conclusions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5993/02]
I have been advised by the Southern Health Board that an independent review of the nursing establishment in Tralee General Hospital was carried out in October and November 2001. This review was commissioned by the board and was carried out by the company referred to by the Deputy, with the following terms of reference: to review staffing levels in Tralee General Hospital having regard to the existing service requirements and to identify the skill mix and staffing levels appropriate to needs of the service in ward areas and departments, and to take account of the report of the commission on nursing and other relevant local and national strategies. An execu tive summary of the review was presented to senior staff on 4 February 2002.
The reviewer made 16 recommendations across five main areas – nurse management, staffing numbers, support staffing, women and child health services and environment. The main approach was to commence the process of developing the roles of nurses at all levels, as proposed by the commission on nursing. This included developing nurses as managers to provide clinical leadership and to ensure protocols based on good practice to assist in patient care. Additional staffing will be necessary to facilitate this process and an additional 6.5 WTE posts on day duty and 16 WTE on night duty were identified. A further 14 posts were identified for specialist areas such as theatre, dialysis, cancer care, parent craft and infection control. The report addressed the utilisation of health care assistants to assist and support the nursing and midwifery function in the hospital.
I am advised that the following action has been taken to date. Five additional nursing staff were recruited in October 2001 for theatre. The 2002 service plan will increase the nurse complement by a further nine posts to bring the total complement to 392. These posts will address the priority areas outlined in the review, including the establishment of a women and child health care unit. The review found that if the number of staff allocated in the service plan was actually filled, many of the problems on the ground would disappear. Management of the hospital are examining the issues in the report. A steering group to oversee the implementation of the recommendations will be established at local level with representation from the Irish Nurses' Organisation and SIPTU.
Question No. 163 answered with Question No. 91.
