JOB PROSPECTS for newly qualified nursing graduates are virtually non-existent at most of the major academic teaching hospitals in the Cork region, according to the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) Youth Council.
The council claims that 48 new graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing were recently advised by Cork University Hospital (CUH)'s human resource management department that there were no jobs available for them — despite the fact that they had already been interviewed and had participated in a week's induction.
"The lack of jobs for new graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, following four years of study and at the cost of €85,000 per graduate, is not only a disgrace but a national scandal," said a spokeswoman for the INO Youth Council.
The spokeswoman said that CUH had confirmed that there were 60 vacant nursing positions at the hospital, so it was inconceivable that positions could not be found for these newly-qualified staff nurses.
"Newly qualified nurses, who have chosen this difficult but rewarding area as their profession, do not deserve such treatment by hospital management.
"This is a serious value for money issue, and it needs to be examined in the context of utilising existing resources now, as opposed to embarking on expensive recruitment campaigns in the future," she stated.
David Long, fourth-year student and INO representative, said the anger being felt by newly qualified students could translate to a lack of trust in the Health Service Executive (HSE).
"The HSE has no excuse when they ask for concessions from health professionals and yet give nothing in return except disrespect and empty promises," he said.
Patsy Doyle, industrial relations officer with the INO, said this decision would lead to further problems with staff morale, increased workloads on current staff and the problems of staff retention in the future.
"Patients will obviously be affected as they will have to, once again, wait for treatment while recruitment is underway. This lack of planning is not good value for money, not good for patients, and certainly not good for newly-qualified nurses," she stated.
