THE IRISH NURSES and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is to begin its annual conference today, and the issue of pay will be high on the agenda.

The organisation’s 94th annual delegate conference will take place over three days in Letterkenny, and will see Minister for Health Dr James Reilly speaking to the members tomorrow.

He is expected to be presented with the findings of the INMO’s trolley and ward watch initiatives.

This morning, the general secretary of the INMO, Liam Doran, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the union’s members will continue to oppose pay cuts, and if the government does move to impose cuts, they are prepared to mobilise and ballot on industrial action.

The conference theme is ‘protecting the frontline’, with Doran saying that the members will speak about their experiences on the frontline. They will call for safe nurse/midwife patient ratios, saying that there should be a standard staffing level of one nurse to four patients in mainstream wards and units.

The nurses and midwives will also discuss the community nurse staffing shortage, as well as the establishment of a review of current midwifery staffing and practice.

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