Vast majority of nurses and midwives claim some degree of burn out

Ninety four per cent of nurses and midwives say work is negatively impacting their wellbeing, while 89% are "at least somewhat" burnt out because of work.

Those are the findings of a survey conducted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and published to coincide with their annual delegate conference,

When asked about the effects of staffing on patient safety, almost 85% of nurses and midwives said staffing levels could not meet work demands, with two thirds of those saying that patient safety was often or always put at risk as a result.

Commenting on the survey, INMO President Karen McGowan said: “These results are very stark and unfortunately they don’t seem to be getting better. There has been no opportunity for nurses and midwives to regain a stable footing since 2019, as it’s just been crisis after crisis in the health service since then.

Sustained stress

“A pandemic that was bookended by absolutely staggering levels of overcrowding means there’s been no recovery time at all. This type of sustained stress over years and years has an absolutely crushing and traumatic effect on people, and these are the same people who are being asked to step up again and again to fill in the gaps. It’s just not sustainable.

“As a society we’ve become more aware of the importance of protecting people’s mental health at work, except it seems when it comes to people who work in healthcare. Our members are just not being protected from the long term physical and psychological effects of stress, and it’s simply irresponsible.”