Labour Court recommends care attendant rotation at St Vincent’s Hospital

The Labour Court recommended that staff at St Vincent’s Hospital accept a programme rotating care attendants between wards every five or six years. Its recommendation, signed on 11 October 2002, also urged the union to use management’s invitation to develop guidelines and criteria addressing staff concerns. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union opposed reintroducing internal rotation, citing disruption and staff flexibility to cover shortages. The South Western Area Health Board said rotation had been the practice before 1999 and supported service needs. The Court said rotation every five or six years should not be too stressful and considered the proposed programme reasonable.