THE shortage of nurses within Kerry General Hospital has reached crisis point according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The INMO is  now calling for an immediate recruitment of staff specific to KGH to address this crisis.

“The situation that currently exists within Kerry General Hospital is unsafe and untenable,” said Michael Dineen, INMO Industrial Relations Officer on Tuesday.

“Our members are challenged, on a daily basis, to deliver safe and effective care to the patients in their charge,” he said

“The INMO is now calling for an immediate recruitment initiative specific to Kerry General Hospital to address this crisis,” said Mr Dineen.

The INMO said the current situation is caused by the following factors:

• The on-going recruitment moratorium within the HSE

• The fact that the hospital is continuously in escalation since January. This means that 10 additional beds are opened within the hospital without sufficient additional staff being made available. As a result, staff are being redeployed within the hospital which further reduces the staffing numbers in the wards from which they are reassigned

• The failure of the HSE to provide the agreed nursing complement to enable its own service plan to be delivered. It was agreed locally that 420 nurses would be required to deliver this service in 2014, yet there are only 402 whole-time equivalents (WTEs) in the system

• The situation is further compounded by the unwillingness of the HSE to replace staff who are retiring.