INMO calls for measures to protect healthcare workers from racially-motivated attacks

Kenneth Fox

Following the incidents occurring in Northern Ireland and protests in Dublin City Centre on Thursday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called on the HSE and other healthcare employers to be vigilant of staff's safety and well-being in the coming days.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Nurses and midwives will be very concerned about the racially motivated protests that are happening on the streets of Belfast.

"We are sending our solidarity to our trade union colleagues in Northern Ireland. We are asking employers to be extra vigilant and conscious of the safety and well-being of our members who are not from Ireland.

"They have come to this country to work, to provide a very necessary service, and they need to be absolutely assured of their safety when they go to work.

“Over 43,000 nurses and midwives have come here to work from other parts of the world and provide essential healthcare services. Just as importantly, their families are rooted in our communities.

"Our members should not be afraid to go to and from their workplaces or anywhere else in their communities because of the disgraceful actions of some."

She said the INMO has written to the HSE seeking that they engage with unions, preventative measures that can be taken, as opposed to dealing with any racially-motivated incidents that might occur due to a lack of preparedness.

“Irish people cannot be bystanders to racist abuse in our hospitals, workplaces, and wider communities. We do not want Ireland to become a place where people are afraid to take up employment in the health sector," she said.