Nurses and midwives make up one third of the total workforce employed in the public health service, despite a decline in their numbers over the last decade, according to the Public Service Pay Commission. Their numbers fell from a high of 39,006 in 2007 to 33,768 in 2013, though they recovered to 36,777 at the end of last year. The loss of nurses and midwives was “not matched by a corresponding reduction in demand placed on the public health service generally,” the commission said. The increase also required the development of a wide range of special recruitment initiatives to both attract and retain nurses and midwives from the domestic market and abroad. It said it acknowledged the very high quality of care provided by the nursing profession to patients in hospital and community care settings.

Source: The Irish Times September 04, 2018 18:33 UTC