Lunchtime protest at mullingar hospital tomorrow

Members of the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) will stage a lunchtime protest on Tuesday to highlight continued overcrowding and poor staffing levels in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar.  
The union said today that the numbers of patients on trolleys, both in the emergency department and throughout the hospital, is now at record levels. Trolley figures for December 2014 show a 253% increase, compared to December 2013, with 409 sick and vulnerable people on trolleys in this hospital.
The INMO is demanding that the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, intervene directly to allow Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar recruit additional nurses and midwives.  Speaking today, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Derek Reilly, stated: “It is acknowledged by the HSE that the Emergency Department in Mullingar is one of the most poorly staffed in the country. An additional ten nurses have been promised, since last September, but to date not one interview has taken place.”  
The INMO is also seeking that additional step-down beds are opened in St Mary’s Hospital, Mullingar and in St Joseph’s Hospital, Longford.
Mr Reilly continued: “The staff in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, are working in a state of crisis on a daily basis. Furthermore, patients in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, have had to put up with the indignity of being cared for on trolleys for far too long. Mullingar is now in a critical situation with patient care being compromised. We are calling upon the public to support this protest on Tuesday.”
The protest takes place tomorrow (Tuesday) from 1pm to 2pm at the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar.