Labour Court recommends urgent maternity staffing review at St. Lukes Hospital

The Labour Court recommended an urgent independent staffing review of the maternity unit at St. Lukes Hospital, Kilkenny, in a dispute between the hospital and the Irish Nurses Organisation. The recommendation was signed on 24 June 2009. The union sought additional midwives and healthcare assistants while the review was pending. It said births had increased by 49% since 2001 and that staffing had not kept pace with activity. The HSE South, representing the hospital, argued that it could not afford the staffing claim or the review. The Court recommended that the parties engage as early as possible on implementing the review’s outcome. It also urged them to use information from a similar review at Wexford General Hospital where that could speed the process and help them agree on staffing levels.