Login
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for your continuing support and sharing information about COVID-19. Below are some communications updates for you.
Phase 3 of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business - Ireland is now in Phase 3 of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, which began on Monday 29th June. You can view the measures that form part of Phase 3 here.
Wednesday, June 17th: The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said today that the full implementation of ‘Sharing the Vision – a Mental Health Policy for Everyone’ published today (Wednesday ) will be a key test for the incoming government and engagement with stakeholders, including PNA, will determine the successful delivery of the strategy.
PNA General Secretary, Peter Hughes said:
“We look forward to engagement on all elements of the implementation of the ‘Sharing the Vision’ policy published today. Despite the detailed and expert submissions PNA made to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care we were never consulted by the Vision for Change Review group that has now brought forward the new strategy. However, it is clear that frontline psychiatric nurses will again be key in the delivery of crucial elements of this new ‘Sharing the Vision’ policy and it will be absolutely essential that their views are heard in the implementation process if it is to succeed.”
Dear Members,
Please note below from NMBI.
It has been decided that it would not be appropriate to go ahead with the elections to the NMBI Board at this time. The notice of election will therefore not be published tomorrow. A new timeline for elections will be agreed at a later stage and a revised date to receive nominations will be communicated in due course.
Regards,
Orla Coady
Governance and Secretariat Manager
Wednesday 19th February : The Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (PNA) said today’s Mental Health Commission (MHC) Report on access to acute public mental health beds for adults paints a stark and worrying picture of the impact that the lack of investment, and the failure of successive governments to implement the Vision for Change strategy, is having on our mental health services.
Peter Hughes , General Secretary of the PNA, said the MHC Report confirms many of the findings of the PNA’s own research on the lack of implementation of the Vision for Change strategy, 14 years after it was introduced as the pathway to new beginning for our mental health services.
Thursday 13 th February : The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said today that real and substantial actions to address the crisis in mental health services must be a central part of any Programme for Government to be negotiated in the formation of the next government.
Peter Hughes, General Secretary of the PNA, said that during the election campaign all of the political parties had made much of their commitments to investment in mental health services in order to address the crisis that has left services struggling to meet demand at every level.
Friday 10th January 2020 - The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) ambulance personnel branch, NASRA,said today (Friday) that the current crisis in Emergency Departments with record numbers of patients waiting on trolleys, is putting the national ambulance service (NAS) under enormous pressure, and is exposing the levels of understaffing and underinvestment in the service throughout the country.
NASRA Branch Secretary, Tony Gregg said the NAS was already struggling to cope with the existing demands on it, including low morale among ambulance personnel. However, the unfolding crisis in ED departments risks pushing the service and ambulance service personnel beyond breaking point.
Mr. Gregg said: “The National Ambulance Service is running on empty with ambulances held back at ED departments and consistently missing response time targets, ambulances being deployed on very long journeys across the country and crews being forced to work beyond rostered shifts, and work without the required rest and meal breaks.”
The PNA is delighted to collaborate with the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery and REACH RCSI and stage a play “A Face in the Crowd” on February 4th 2020.
PNA Bursaries For Horatio Congress Berlin May 14-16, 2020
Call for Those Wishing to ATTEND - Closing date January 27th, 2020
Dear Members,
I wish to advise that the result of the ballot in relation to the recruitment and retention dispute is:
80% in favour of accepting the proposed measures
20% against accepting the proposed measures
PNA Bursaries For Horatio Congress Berlin May 14-16, 2020
Call for Those Wishing to PRESENT – 2nd Call for Abstracts Closing Date December 31st 2019
The Nursing and Midwifery Research and Education Conference are excited to announce that this is the FINAL CALL for abstract submissions.
CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE for more details and guidelines to submit your abstract today.
The closing submission date: 14th NOVEMBER
Friday, November 8 th 2019 : Psychiatric nurses in Waterford, members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, (PNA) , today (Friday, 8 th Nov.) protested at the University Hospital Waterford at the ongoing overcrowding at the hospital's Acute Psychiatry Unit.
Today's protest follows on last week's unprecedented overcrowding at the Unit which is the latest example of the crisis in mental health services in Waterford brought about through a combination of overcrowding, understaffing and a complete lack of development of Community and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
PNA Industrial Relations Officer, Michael Hayes said today's protest was necessary to highlight the impact that overcrowding and under -resourcing of mental health services in Waterford is having on the delivery of care to vulnerable services users.
Thursday 31st October: The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) will today (Thursday) commence balloting of its members on new measures proposed to address issues in recruitment and retention of nurses in the mental health services, including an enhanced nurse contract for psychiatric nurses.
Wednesday 30th October: The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has today (Wednesday) said that overcrowding in the Waterford mental health services has reached unprecedented levels and has placed staff working in the services under intolerable pressure.
The 44-bed acute Psychiatry Unit at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) has an additional 10 patients admitted on the ward. Ten beds assigned to Waterford Mental Health Services at the private St Patrick’s Mental Health Services in Dublin are now full and a further three Waterford patients have had to be transferred to Kilkenny which is now also fully occupied.
PNA Industrial Relations Officer, Michael Hayes said the overcrowding in the Waterford services has now reached unprecedented levels despite repeated warnings from the PNA in recent months that the situation in the services was deteriorating.
Wednesday 23rd October - Ambulance personnel members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) from around the country protested at Leinster House, Kildare St. today for the fourth time in demand of their right to be represented by the PNA as the union of their choice.
PNA AMBULANCE PERSONNEL MEMBERS TO PROTEST AT DAIL ON WEDNESDAY 23rd OCT. FROM 12.00 noon to 2 p.m. IN CONTINUING CAMPAIGN FOR RIGHT TO JOIN THE UNION OF THEIR CHOICE
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has suspended its action due to begin this evening where members would only work their contracted hours.
PNA has accepted an urgent referral to the Labour Court at the request of the WRC.
There has been extensive contact between the PNA and the WRC in the past 24 hours during which some issues have been resolved with further outstanding issues to be referred to the Labour Court.
Over 200 nursing posts have been approved to alleviate the reliance on overtime and agency staff throughout the mental health services.
Tuesday 23 rd 2019 : The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said today (Tuesday 23 rd. 2019 ) that its members will not work beyond contracted hours from tomorrow evening (Wednesday 24 th July) following the collapse of talks at the WRC on proposals to resolve the crisis in recruitment and retention in mental health services.
Announcing the recommencement of the refusal of overtime by PNA members, Peter Hughes, PNA General Secretary said it was disappointing that psychiatric nurses found themselves again having to take this action after being given clear indications by the employer that they were ready to bring forward meaningful and constructive proposals to finally resolve this dispute, and address the recruitment and retention crisis in mental health once and for all.
‘Unfortunately, yesterday's talks at the WRC showed once again the lack of any urgency by the employer to agree detailed terms that would end this dispute'.
Press release issued on behalf of the Psychaitric Nurses Association:
Saturday, 20 July 2019 - The Psychiatric Nurses Association Ambulance Personnel Branch reports a total disregard of contingency planning for the national ambulance service during the 24-hour strike by ambulance members of the PNA in pursuit of their demand for recognition of their union, the PNA. Reports from across the country confirm that the HSE is disregarding contingency arrangements whereby HSE managers and members of other unions who are not on strike respond to emergency calls ahead of PNA members for the duration of the strike action which commenced yesterday (Friday) at 2 pm for a 24-hour period. The PNA report that at the two ambulance service control centres for the entire country, staff have not been informed of contingency plans and the HSE is continuing to allocate emergency calls to PNA members while they are on strike.
Newsvendor 