I thank Deputy Bruton for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position regarding Beaumont Hospital.
News reports today refer to proposed industrial action in Beaumont Hospital accident and emergency department because of work pressures and staff shortages. I understand that the ballot was only completed yesterday evening and that both INO and SIPTU members have voted for industrial action.
I can inform the House that a special pre-arranged hospital board meeting is taking place tomorrow, 30 November. This meeting had been arranged prior to the ballot of nursing staff and with their knowledge. Hospital management had asked accident and emergency staff, including nurses, for their proposals on how to alleviate pressures in the department. These proposals are to be discussed at tomorrow's board meeting – and there is to be feedback at a staff meeting on Friday next, 1 December. It should be possible with co-operation between management, medical and nursing staff to resolve the situation at local level.
I can also inform the House that the hospital has a total of 57 nursing vacancies at present. This is a 50% improvement on the position at 30 September 2000, when there were 113.5 vacancies. That clarifies that there has been a significant improvement since September. This is proof of the success of ongoing recruitment campaigns. Thirty two beds have been opened in the last two weeks, leaving 35 beds closed. All remaining beds will be opened by January 2001.
More generally in relation to nursing shortages, the Health Service Employers' Agency carried out a national survey of the position at 30 September 2000. This found that the overall vacancy figure stood at 1,388 vacancies. However, the net vacancy position stood at 476 when account is taken of agency nurses and overtime working.
The survey found again that difficulties largely relate to the Dublin area and the major Dublin acute hospitals account for a large percentage of the vacancies in the eastern region. These hospitals have engaged in a successful international recruitment drive. However, it was noted by the HSEA that the full impact of recruitment campaigns is not reflected in the survey as many of the nurses recruited abroad had not started work at that time. The Beaumont experience as stated above is an example of nurses beginning to come on stream.
In this context, I am pleased to inform the House that earlier today I announced details of a £5 million package of incentives aimed at attracting nurses and midwives back to work, retaining nurses and midwives in the public health service, and addressing shortages in specialist areas. The initiative includes a new scheme of flexible working arrangements for nurses and midwives in the public health service which will come into operation on 1 February 2001.
The scheme is designed to introduce greater flexibility in working arrangements for nurses with family responsibilities and other commitments. Fees for "back-to-nursing" courses are being abolished with immediate effect. In addition, nurses and midwives undertaking such courses will, for the first time ever, be paid a salary. The intention behind this initiative is to remove all financial obstacles in the path of nurses and midwives who wish to return to practice. From the current academic year, all nurses studying for the post-registration higher diploma in sick children's nursing will have their fees refunded. They will also receive an enhanced salary while in training. This measure is specifically designed to ease recruitment difficulties facing the children's hospitals in particular. It follows similar initiatives taken by me earlier this year on behalf of student public health nurses and student midwives. The number of available places on specialist nursing courses, including accident and emergency, is being expanded. To encourage more nurses into specialised areas of clinical practice, including accident and emergency, nurses undertaking specific courses will now receive full pay while doing so. They will also have their course fees paid in return for a commitment to continue working in the specialist area for a specified period following completion of the course.
Funding is being provided to the HSEA to employ a nurse manager to co-ordinate the provision of supervised clinical placements for nurses recruited from abroad. Nurses from the Philippines and certain other non-EU countries are required to undertake such placements prior to registration. A major advertising campaign aimed at attracting qualified nurses and midwives back to work is being launched tomorrow. This campaign will make use of radio and print media advertising to market nursing as a career with the specific objective of encouraging nurses and midwives back into the system.
I recently announced a package of investment costing £25 million to alleviate service pressures on the acute hospital sector comprising first, the appointment of an additional 27 consultants to work in accident and emergency departments and ensure early—