Concern has been expressed that there is a difference of 35 in Saolta’s estimation of the shortage of nursing and midwifery staff at Letterkenny University Hospital, compared to the INMO’s latest estimate.
Saolta’s Chief Operations Officer said there is rolling recruitment, and stressed Saolta’s estimate only covers Emergency and Surgical Departments, as outlined in Cllr McMonagle’s question.
Cllr McMonagle asked that following on from the INMO commentary that LUH is short of approximately 85 nurses in the Emergency and Surgery areas, Saolta and the HSE would outline their short to medium plans to address these deficits.
Saolta’s Chief Operating Officer Ann Cosgrove said a total of 88 overseas nurses and midwives took up roles in Letterkenny, and since the beginning of last year, and within the Emergency and Surgery Directorate there are currently 23 Staff Nurse vacancies at the hospital.
Recent staff nurse interviews have been held with two successful applicants for Emergency and Surgery, and there is also an ED staff nurse commencing next month. Five more surgical nurses will start next month from the overseas recruitment campaign.
She said there is an ongoing campaign for staff nurses on the Saolta website, from which there are currently 19 applicants, and LUH has also advertised for site specific and department specific staff nurses, with shortlisting underway.
Question and reply in full –
Following on from the INMO commentary that LUH is short of
approximately 85 Nurse’s in the Emergency and Surgery areas of LUH.
Can the SAOLTA/HSE set out the Short and Medium Plans to address
these deficits in Nursing at LUH?
Cllr G McMonagle
A total of 88 overseas nurses and midwives took up roles in LUH since the beginning of last year where they were
supported with an adaptation programme. Within the Emergency and Surgery Directorate there are currently 23 Staff
Nurse vacancies in Letterkenny University Hospital.
Recent staff nurse interviews have been held with 2 successful applicants for Emergency and Surgery. In
addition, there is also an ED staff nurse commencing on 19th June 2023.
LUH has a rolling campaign for staff nurses on the Saolta website from which there are currently 19 applicants
(5 are for Surgical, 1 for ED).
LUH has recently advertised for site specific and department specific staff nurse vacancies. We are currently
shortlisting and arranging interviews for vacancies across all specialities.
Through the Saolta overseas nurse recruitment campaigns, 5 further nurses will start in LUH in the Surgical
Directorate in June 2023.
A. Cosgrove, COO, Saolta University Health Care Group
