Cancer patients: Nurses strike a dark day for all

Patients branded Ireland’s nurses strike a dark day for all and urged swift resolution of a dispute which risks paralysing the health system.

Colourful and noisy picket lines were formed outside hospitals across the country, from the capital Dublin to Galway in the west.

Firefighters dropped off doughnuts to those protesting outside Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin.

“Everyone is in high spirits, we’re on a bridge over the motorway getting beeped and waved at,” said 23-year-old Katie Deegan, from Blanchardstown.

Ms Deegan said a fire truck pulled up on the bridge and two firemen got out to hand out the Krispy Kreme doughnuts, before taking pictures with the protesters.

“I think they just wanted to show they support the nurses and midwives and appreciate the hard work they do,” said Ms Deegan.

“Nurses and midwives seem to be the members of society that everyone seems to appreciate and I think they want that reflected in their pay and their working conditions.

“It doesn’t seem to be divisive issue, everyone is on board with it.”

Six days of industrial action are planned over the next two weeks.

Cork midwife Naomi O’Donovan said she was absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of public support nurses and midwives received on the picket line in Co Cork.

The 38-year old, who works on the labour ward at Cork University Maternity Hospital, said: “It’s been absolutely mind-blowing. There is a fierce energy out there – it was absolutely inspiring.”

Ms O’Donovan said they had been inundated all day long with donations of food and hot drinks from local companies who were trying to help them withstand the freezing weather conditions.

She added that motorists had hooted their horns all day long also.

“We were so touched and so blown away,” she said.

“We’re in the business of looking after everybody else, but today absolutely everyone looked after us. It was just so amazing that support.”

She believes there will not be safe staffing levels until those working in the health service received fair pay because the work was “too hard”.

She added that nurses were now more determined than ever to keep fighting for improved pay and conditions.

Amy, a nurse in the emergency department at Tallaght hospital in Dublin, said they were outside for their patients and themselves.

She said: “We are not paid what we should be for what we do, our patients are suffering.

“No one wants to work in these conditions, no one wants to work for terrible pay.”

An organisation which represents cancer patients in Ireland, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Ireland, appealed for an end to the stand-off over pay between trade unionists and health service managers.

It said: “Today is a dark day for patients, nurses and all health care providers. Lives will be put at risk and the impact will be felt for a long time.

“We call for a swift resolution to the impasse so those that care about caring can do what they do best, help those in need of their expertise.”