James Cox
Student nurses have strongly criticised a new report recommending they get a €100 per week hospital placement grant.
The report, by Professor Tom Collins, was commissioned following allegations that student nurses were being exploited during the pandemic.
In a statement, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), said the finding does not reflect the high Covid risk Irish hospitals now pose, nor the work student nurses be asked to do in the weeks ahead.
“The report does not address any issues for final year interns and proposes a €100 per week temporary grant for those students on placement,” the INMO added.
The union says it has requested an urgent meeting with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to discuss the situation.
Obsolete
INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: “Student nurses and midwives have been doing incredible work on the frontline. They engaged in this process in good faith and are deeply disappointed in this report.
“The Covid situation has deteriorated rapidly. This report is already obsolete and no longer reflects the risk or work that students will be taking on in the coming weeks.
“It’s time for the Minister to do the right thing. He should pay students the healthcare assistant rate of pay — something which was done earlier in the pandemic.
“This would better reflect the work and risks students are undertaking in Covid-intensive hospitals.”
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