4 N E WS & F E AT U R ES
SIN Vol. 22 Issue 03
INMO welcomes decision to pay Student Nurses during pandemic By Conor Brummell The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) have been lobbying the Government to pay Student Nurses and Midwives working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement released online on the 16th of October, the INMO warned that students working on the frontlines in hospitals were “being exploited” and highlighted that many of them “on placements in hospitals across Ireland were facing additional Covid risks and were effectively being asked to work as staff for no pay.” As well as this, student Nurses and Midwives working in hospitals have suffered income loss, as they are no longer able to work part-time as care assistants while studying, due to the infection risk
of working in a care home while also on placement in a hospital. In the same statement from the INMO, the group said that, “Before their final year internship, most student nurses and midwives get either nothing or an allowance of just €50.79 per week. A HSE scheme to pay many students healthcare assistant salaries was used at the start of the pandemic in March, but it is no longer operating,” and that, “Despite INMO meeting with Department Officials to discuss the issue, no progress [had] been made.” A final year Nursing Student from Galway, Aoife*, spoke to SIN about the issues around not being paid on placement before the Government’s announcement. She preceded the * Name changed
conversation by saying she is in the fortunate position not to have to pay rent, as she is staying at home this year. “I don’t have it as bad as others, thankfully, but still we’re not getting paid. A lot of us have had to give up our part-time jobs to do placement, which isn’t fair as most students have to pay rent and afford living costs.” “This has been an issue before the pandemic started. We have been expected to do unpaid placements every year from first year despite sometimes doing as much as qualified nurses. You could be helping the nurses on the ward do their rounds, be administrating drugs to patients under their supervision, and working as a health care assistant (HCA) on twelve-hour shifts, but you’re doing it completely unpaid,” she continued.
Photo: nationalnursesunited.org
“You’re told that you’re learning and therefore you shouldn’t be paid. The problem with that attitude is that you are working too, whilst also doing college assignments, and it is exhausting. So many student Nurses get burnt out because of this and get physically sick near the end of placement because they are so run-down. “You then begin to feel guilty because you can’t do nice things with the money you have, like buy a coffee or treat yourself to something new, because there isn’t more money coming in at the end of the week. I don’t understand how anyone expects us to have the time to decompress on top of all of this- it feels like we are being used,” she stated. The coronavirus pandemic has raised further safety issues for student nurses, which Aoife says worries her a lot. “When on clinical placement, student nurses aren’t supposed to be on Covid wards because they would be putting themselves at unnecessary risk. However, it depends on staff shortages, and I’ve been told Student Nurses could be drafted in to help in Covid wards if needed. “Obviously when you sign up to do a degree in Nursing, you can’t pick and choose what you’re going to do on placement. But at the same time, when it is unpaid and you are at risk, it is disheartening. We’ve to use public transport to get to placement; we have to be in the community to get groceries. You begin to hate coming out of placement, because you don’t know what you might have picked up,” she said.
“They were able to pay student nurses at the start of the pandemic, why can’t they pay us now? Everyone can see the work we have been doing and qualified nurses on the wards are grateful for the extra hands. It just doesn’t make sense how it hasn’t been done yet, and they need to stop talking about it and just pay us for the work we are doing.” “You then see the Government coming up with hair-brained schemes like paying influencers on Tik Tok something like twenty-thousand euro to tell people things they already know (like wearing a mask, or washing their hands) when there is student nurses on the front line at risk and unpaid. How can the Government not see how wrong it is not to pay student nurses?” she finished angrily. It was announced on the 26th of October, however, that the Government would pay student nurses and midwives for their contributions on placements. INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, welcomed the decision, saying that, “This is a really welcome step from the government. It is good news for the students, who will now be paid for their work on the frontlines. “It’s also good news for the wider health service. These are dedicated, talented, hard-working people who are keen to help in the global fight against Covid-19. Taking them on as paid staff not only values their work but offers them clear protections as employees. “We will now engage with the government to determine the detail of this announcement, particularly on ensuring that students’ academic progression isn’t harmed by the crisis,” she finished.
Corrib Meal plan leaves bad taste in student’s mouths Paddy Henry Residents of Corrib Village have criticised a scheme by Campus Living to provide meals to self-isolating students. The NUI Galway accommodation complex initially announced it would be offering an optional two-week meal plan to students required to isolate in line with HSE guidelines The initial four-course plan provided by campus caterer Masterchefs amounted to €24 a day. Students criticised the cost of the plan branding it as extortionate, one claiming that it took advantage of students “I think that it’s taking advantage of students that are already in a very frightening and worrying situation. They knew that situations like this would arise and chose to extort students instead of helping them through it,” said one resident of the complex
Campus Living, who run the University’s two on-campus facilities Corrib and Goldcrest Village said that they were continuing in their efforts to support students. In a statement Campus living said that they would continue in their efforts to support students, telling SIN; “We are supporting our students providing welfare telephone checks and other measures. We were dealing with mainly international students who hadn’t already shopped. A dinner only option may be more affordable for students.“ They also revealed that they were providing students with information on alternative options for students should they need to isolate, including a delivery service from the NUI Galway pharmacy for emergency situations. The price of the plan has since been lowered to €17.50 per day over a 10-day period, with a dinner only option for €8
which students have argued is still too high. Students welcomed the revised meal plan but claimed that it should still be lowered further. “‘I’m glad to hear that they’ve reduced it, although €245 is still very high for two weeks of food for a student. Maybe €15 would be a bit more reasonable at about a fiver a meal.” Speaking to SIN, NUI Galway Student’s Union’s Welfare and Equality officer Róisín Nic Lochlainn condemned the meal plan and accused the accommodation providers of taking advantage of students. “I think it’s disgraceful how far removed from reality do the University and the accommodation providers need to be to think that any student can afford that let alone during a pandemic. “When you think about it and you put it into context the €250 that has been awarded to every student from the government is less than what Corrib Village
were originally charging for quarantine food for some of our most vulnerable students. This is what you call taking advantage of vulnerable students during a pandemic at its finest.
“We condemn it and we think that it should be as cheap as possible and the other cheaper alternatives should be advertised to students first and foremost.”
Corrib village has been ciriticised for the cost of its meal delivery scheme for isolating students. Photo: Galway Bay FM
