Fórsa members in Cork and Dublin began a series of national lunchtime protests on the 3rd October, standing alongside INMO and SIPTU colleagues. The protests took place outside Cork University Hospital (CUH) and the HSE headquarters at Dr. Steevens Hospital in Dublin, on 3rd October 2024.
Members at the protests spoke of the stress and pressure they face when trying to do the jobs of several people, mirroring the responses in the survey of Fórsa members to better understand the real impact of the HSE’s decision to cut funded roles.
What is it really like on the frontlines?
Almost 4,000 members of Fórsa’s Health & Welfare division took part in the survey. The results paint a stark picture of the strain workers are under. 88% of those who took part in the survey said there is a vacancy in their department. 73% said this was having a “very negative impact” on staff and 74% said the vacancies were having a “very negative impact” on services.
Members at yesterday’s protests painted a similar picture. Ciara Dawson, a senior occupational therapist working in mental health services who joined the protest in Dublin said: “Usually I’m eating my lunch at my desk because I just have to stay on top of work and on top of seeing patients, I can’t let them down. There is money coming into the HSE but it’s not making it down to the front line, where it really is needed. You see initiatives being put together but they’re so out of touch with the fire-fighting we’re doing front line.”
Ciara was joined by her colleague Leighton Thomas, also a mental health occupational therapist.
Leighton told of the day-to-day reality of trying to deliver a quality service with “skeletal staff” and rising waiting lists. He said: “We have unfilled vacancies that we’ve had for several years. Now the embargo has been lifted, so they say, but all vacant posts have evaporated, they’ve gone.”
“We’re stuck in a loop of trying to provide services, running ourselves ragged in the process and really not achieving what we’re setting out to achieve, which is quality patient care. At the end of the day the service users are the ones that are suffering. There’s not enough therapists, not enough social workers, not enough psychologists, not enough occupational therapists to actually cover what the government wants us to cover.”
Further protests will take place in the weeks ahead at the following locations:
• 9th October St Luke’s Kilkenny and Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown
• 10th October Our Lady of Lourdes, Louth and Tullamore Regional Hospital
• 16th October Cavan General Hospital and Sligo University Hospital
• 17th October Naas General Hospital and Mayo University Hospital
All protests are lunchtime protests taking place between 12.30pm and 1.15pm. To take part contact your local branch or official. Meeting points and contact persons will be circulated to members in advance.
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