UNDER pressure staff working on the frontline at University Hospital Kerry are near breaking point because not enough help is available at an incredibly busy time, a Kerry TD has claimed.
Deputy Pa Daly said he has been told that there are only four nurses per ward in the hospital, with no regard for staff breaks.
He said the situation is going to put both the staff and patients at risk of harm.
“Staff are doing their best but they are dealing with unimaginable levels of mental and physical exhaustion,” the Kerry TD stated.
“Similarly, I am hearing from student nurses whose internships and placements are negatively affected by these same staff shortages.
“There is no opportunity to train when the wards are under-staffed and resources are placed under severe pressure,” Deputy Daly remarked.
The Sinn Fein politicians also complained that the student nurses are not being paid a fair wage for extremely hard work under difficult circumstances.
“They go far beyond their educational remit and are relied upon as if they were full-time staff.
“The very least the government and the HSE can do is to pay these nurses a living wage,” Deputy Daly insisted.
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