The UL Hospitals Group is rejecting claims by nursing representatives that frontline staff could face disciplinary action if they wear a higher grade of face mask.
A memo sent to staff by hospital management, which has been seen by Clare FM, lists a number of PPE-related instructions to workers including that they “must.. wear a surgical facemask” and that “failure to comply may result in disciplinary procedure.”
The INMO says this has outraged staff, as they feel it explicitly disallows the use of higher-standard FFP2 masks, which are worn by staff in other hospitals such as Cork, and the union issued a press release to publicise its concerns.
The UL Hospitals Group says the letter is in line with national HSPC guidelines, and that there is “no restriction” on the use of those masks.
Assistant Director of Industrial Relations for the Midwest, Mary Fogarty, says higher grade equipment is needed by nurses due to the more contagious variant of COVID-19 that’s circulating.
Response from the UL Hospitals Group
“We can confirm that management issued a memorandum to staff on January 15th following a meeting of the Hospital Crisis Management Team.
This memo was issued in the interests of patient and staff safety to reduce hospital and community transmission.
There is no reference in the memo to FFP2 masks. Nothing in the memo restricts staff from wearing FFP2 face masks where appropriate and in line with national IP&C guidelines.
The use of PPE including masks across UL Hospitals Group is in accordance with national HPSC guidelines, which have not been updated to recommend FFP2 masks for general use.
FFP2 masks are widely available for use in clinical areas and in particular COVID outbreak areas and there is no restriction on this.
We acknowledge the anxiety currently being experienced by all staff and we will continue to encourage compliance with the national guidance to help protect patients and staff”.
