MÍCHEÁL MARTIN HAS SOME NECK. I tackled him today about the abuse of student nurses – 13 hour shifts, emptying bed pans, bathing and caring for people who can’t care for themselves – hard work! “SHOULD N’T HAPPEN” he says, all shocked and angry. Too right it shouldn’t! But it does. AND ON HIS WATCH. What bloody snakes we have in government; pretend outrage, blame someone else, and suggest the claims are unfounded. That the best you can do Taoiseach?

The Govt,HSE and health department want to spin the story that everything was done correctly at the right time for our elderly on nursing homes. But the figures for deaths say differently, so do the stories from staff of having no PPE or adequate testing. How can we learn any lessons if no one admits mistakes were made? If we really want to honour those who died we need to stop contacting out the care of our elderly to private homes and make sure we have publicly run care centres with proper staffing levels and medical facilities. We can start by taking over ST Marys centre Telford into public ownership and stop its proposed closure.

 

Praise is good but PROPER PAY AND PPE are better. On INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY the least FF/FG could do is pay them the full amount agreed from the strike. Many hospitals haven’t done that yet. And despite solemn assurances from Harris and Holohan, PPE is still an issue for many nurses and carers. People Before Profit were proud to stand in solidarity with nurses today outside James’s, Cherry Orchard, and Crumliln hospitals.