INO slams Drumm following 'no show'

HSE CEO Prof Brendan Drumm cancelled at the last minute a scheduled appearance at the Irish Nurses Organisation's 90th anniversary conference this morning.

It was the first time Prof Drumm was expected to appear at a public function since it was confirmed three weeks ago that he was to be paid a €70,000 bonus in relation to work he carried out in 2007.

Health Minister Mary Harney also cancelled a scheduled appearance at the nurses meeting, which was addressed by President Mary McAleese.

Prof Drumm would have faced questions from the media attending the conference about his bonus, which was approved by the HSE board, and whether he had yet drawn it down.

Following Prof Drumm's "no show" at the special Dublin nurses conference, INO General Secretary Liam Doran launched a scathing attack on Prof Drumm's hospital reconfiguration policy in the mid-west and the north-east and said the CEO had not met with the INO or most other health unions for 15 months.

Speaking to reporters at the conference, which celebrated 90 years since the establishment of the INO, Mr Doran said he did not know the reason why Prof Drumm decided to pull out of the meeting at the last minute.

"We wrote to him six to eight months ago inviting him, but his office cancelled this morning, and that is obviously disappointing."

"We haven't met Prof Drumm now for 15 months, not has any union I believe other than the medical organisations. We are saddened that we have not had as ongoing contact with Prof Drumm as we would have liked."

Mr Doran said among the issues the INO wanted to discuss with him were his transformation programme, the continuing A&E problems, and the continuing attempt to reconfigure services in the north-east and mid-west.

He said there had been broken promises in relation to the reconfiguration of hospital services in these regions.

"There have been broken promises there, broken commitments about maintaining the quality of access, the speed of access, the quality of care."

Mr Doran claimed the changes in the mid-west were making a very material negative difference to Limerick Regional Hospital, in terms of workload and in terms of protocols that needed to be put in place.

"They have not put in place the elective work that was to be redirected to Nenagh and and Ennis, so it is still all pouring into that funnel which is Dooradoyle in Limerick."

He said the same could be said for the reorganisation of hospital services in the north-east.

"It is a debacle in terms of quality of care, access to care and speed of care. The responsibility for that lies four-square on the shoulders of Prof Drumm."

Mr Doran said Prof Drumm had championed the reconfiguration of services in the north-east, promised a better service to the people of the north east, but had failed to provide it.

"He has failed the people of the north-east and has failed them badly."

Asked why Propf Drumm had not been able to attend the nurses' meeting, a HSE spokesman said it was due to the CEO's "diary commitments" including work in relation to swine flu and the budgetary planning process for 2010.

Earlier, President McAleese paid tribute to the developing role of nurses and of the INO over the past 90 years and to the quality of care provided by nurses.

She said there had been major expansion in nurses' specialisation and education.

It was announced at the INO conference that the organisation will have a name change next January to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

[Posted: Wed 04/11/2009]