Emotional exhaustion, safe staffing, and ‘outstanding contributions’ among highlights at INMO Annual Conference

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) released its annual staff survey at the launch of its 106th Annual Delegate Conference, which took place in White’s Hotel, Wexford, on 7-9 May, 2025. The theme of the conference was ‘Inclusion healthcare – it starts with us’.

Over 50 motions were also debated on safe staffing, assaults, the future of nursing and midwifery, the ageing workforce, inclusion healthcare, and privatisation of older person’s healthcare at the event. The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill addressed delegates and a panel discussion on inclusion healthcare in Ireland also took place with nurses and midwives working in homeless, international protection, and addiction services.

Findings from the annual survey showed that staffing was a major concern for members in terms of both staff and patient safety. Among those citing inadequate staffing, over 90 per cent expressed concern about compromised patient safety. Almost half of respondents reported they felt pressured to work additional hours or shifts in order to make up the staffing shortfall, and 53 per cent said they were ‘always’ or ‘very often’ available for periods that were supposed to be lunch/coffee breaks during their shift.

The number of respondents working between one and 10 hours unpaid each month has increased on last year, with 65 per cent stating that this was their experience.

Among those who stated their intention to leave their work area:

• 80.92 per cent said that their area’s current staffing levels and skill mix were inappropriate for meeting clinical and patient work demands.
• 83.4 per cent believed their work negatively impacted their psychological wellbeing.
• 81.54 per cent believed their work negatively affected their physical health.
• Of the total respondents, 69.04 per cent reported that their work was impacting their physical health.
• 55 per cent said they were ‘always’ or ‘very often’ physically exhausted.
• 39.79 per cent believed that their work negatively impacted their psychological wellbeing ‘a great deal’ or ‘a lot’.
• 24.12 per cent attended their GP due to work-related stress.

Emotional exhaustion and burnout were a significant factor in responses, with almost 70 per cent of respondents saying they often or always felt worn out at the end of the working day, and almost half stating they felt exhausted in the morning at the thought of the working day ahead.

Over 55 per cent reported that they had experienced aggressive (verbal or threatening) behaviour in the workplace, and one in five stated that they had experienced physical violence. The effect of this pressure on staff retention was clear, with 61.5 per cent of respondents stating they had considered leaving their work area in the past month, with workplace stress cited as the primary reason.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Our members have been very clear in this survey that staffing levels are having a detrimental effect on patient care and a severe impact on nurses’ and midwives’ ability to protect their own health and safety. This level of stress, exhaustion, and physical strain over many years has a very serious effect on our members and should not be tolerated.

“To have one-in-five workers attending their GP for work-related stress would be a scandal in many workplaces and industries, but this is the level of sacrifice that is expected from our members and it is simply not sustainable.

“It is absolutely critical that improvements come into effect in the coming months regarding both staffing and workforce planning, and this needs to include legislation that underpins clinically safe staffing levels. This needs to happen not simply to protect these healthcare workers and their patients, but to protect the future of the health service.”

INMO President Caroline Gourley added: “The message from our members couldn’t be clearer – they are stretched to breaking point trying to keep patients safe in an unsafe working environment and their own health and wellbeing are suffering as a result. It is not realistic or fair to expect people to keep going into work in these conditions, putting their physical and mental health at risk for their work.

“The dedication and commitment of nurses and midwives should not be the glue holding the health service together. Our members’ goodwill is not a substitute for effective workforce planning.”

The INMO also announced the winners of its three annual member prizes at the conference. The three INMO prizes recognise outstanding contributions by members in the areas of research, mentorship, and union activism.

The INMO’s Preceptor of the Year Award was won by nurse Mary Linzell, Cork University Hospital, who was nominated by student nurse Hazel Beamish. The Preceptor of the Year award recognises the role of mentorship in nurse and midwife education, with preceptors nominated by student nurses and midwives across the country.

This year’s CJ Coleman research prize was awarded to Sarah Gleeson, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Mercy University Hospital, Cork, for her research project ‘Implementation of a Nurse-led Shingrix Vaccination Clinic for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease’.

The Gobnait O’Connell Award, which recognises members who have made an extraordinary contribution to the union and its work, was awarded to Liz Nolan, Clinical Placement Coordinator, Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

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