Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Feb 2002

Vol. 549 No. 1

Written Answers. - Nursing Staff.

Gay Mitchell

Question:

107 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children the actions he intends to take to encourage trained nurses back into the State health system and to address the 66,000 bed days lost due to nursing shortages in the 18 months from January 2000 to June 2001. [5829/02]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

172 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the degree to which adequate nursing staff are available to all hospitals here including psychiatric, maternity and geriatric hospitals; his plans to address shortages in these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6107/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 172 together.

The Health Service Employers Agency undertook a survey of nursing vacancies at 31 October 2001. A copy of this survey will be forwarded directly to the Deputy.

While all sectors reported that recruitment was well ahead of resignations-retirement, employers reported that 1,322 vacancies existed at 31 October 2001. These circumstances arise where the volume of additional nursing posts being created outstrips capacity to recruit. The combination of utilising agency nurses and overtime working provides the equivalent of around 1,150 full-time nurses to the service to cope with difficulties arising in the provision of services while employers continue the recruitment process to fill vacancies.

A major recruitment and retention initiative, costing in excess of £5 million or €6.35 million, was launched by me on 29 November 2000 to address the present shortage of nurses and midwives. In particular a scheme of flexible working arrangements for nurses and midwives in the public health service came into operation on 1 February 2001. Under the scheme nurses and midwives may apply to work between eight and 39 hours per week on a permanent part-time basis.

As part of my overall recruitment-retention strategy, I have introduced the following financial support for nurses and midwives undertaking post-registration educational courses: payment of fees to nurses-midwives undertaking part-time nursing and certain other undergraduate degree courses; improved scheme of financial support for student public health nurses; enhanced financial support package for student midwives and student paediatric nurses; payment of fees and enhanced salary to nurses-midwives undertaking courses in specialised areas of clinical practice; abolition of fees for back-to-practice courses and payment of salary to nurses-midwives undertaking such courses; financial support to State enrolled nurses working in the health service wishing to undertake nursing conversion programmes in the United Kingdom.

The ongoing recruitment of nurses from abroad is also impacting positively on the vacancy problem. A total of 2,576 working visas-work authorisations were issued to nurses from non EU countries between June 2000 and December 2001.

My Department is also engaged in strategic planning through the study of the nursing and midwifery resource. The focus of this work is on long-term planning. The primary objective of the study is to forecast, as far as is possible, future nursing and midwifery workforce needs. An interim report was published in October 2000 and widely circulated within the health services. The final report is due to be published in April.

On 1 November 2001, I launched the new four year undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree programme commencing in 2002.

The new nursing degree programme, to replace the current three year diploma programme, will put the education of nurses on a par with that of other health care professionals. The nursing profession has long been seeking such parity and the Government's decision implements a central recommendation of the Commission on Nursing. Educating nurses to degree level will enable them to develop their clinical skills to a greater extent and to respond to future challenges in health care, for the benefit of patients and client groups.

The Government has approved a capital building programme totalling £176 million or €223.5 million for the construction of facilities to accommodate nursing students at 13 higher education institutions here. This programme is due to be completed by September 2004.

A total of 1,640 places nationally will be available annually on the degree programme as follows:

General	1,057
Psychiatry	343
Mental handicap	240

I also announced a new sponsorship scheme for experienced health care assistants wishing to train as nurses. Up to 40 sponsorships will be available annually. Successful applicants will be allowed to retain their salary during the four years of the degree programme.

Over a period of 18 months, 66,000 bed days represents only 1% of available bed days within the acute hospital system.

In the Government's recently published review of bed capacity the question of bed days lost owing to bed closures was factored into the calculation of an additional requirement for 3,000 extra beds in the acute hospital system.

In this regard I was pleased to announce last month that additional funding of €65 million is being provided to commission 709 extra beds in public hospitals. As announced in the health strategy, this is the first phase of the provision of 3,000 additional acute hospital beds by 2011. The additional beds represent further tangible evidence of this Government's commitment to investment in the development of additional facilities for the treatment of public patients and to the reduction of waiting lists and waiting times.