Nurse and midwife stress, burnout, and unsafe conditions a ‘national crisis’

The 2026 Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) member survey shows, yet again, that work stress is severely impacting the health of nurses and midwives in Ireland. Over two-thirds of the survey’s respondents stated their current staffing levels and skill mix did not meet the required clinical and patient demands in their work area, and over 39 per cent reported that their work negatively impacted their psychological wellbeing. Almost a quarter of respondents reported attending their GP due to work-related stress in the past 12 months. 

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “This level of stress is not something anyone can or should live with in the long-term and the fact that conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to this level reflects very badly on the organisations and people who are responsible for this workforce. The levels of stress and burnout we are seeing here should be considered a national crisis and we need to recognise that this would not be accepted in other sectors.”

The survey also shows staffing remains a major concern for members in 2026, with INMO members expressing concern about the safety of their patients. Of the 61 per cent of respondents who stated they had considered leaving their work area in the past month, 80 per cent reported unsafe staffing levels. In relation to workplace staffing and workload pressures, almost half of respondents felt pressure to work additional hours or shifts. 

INMO President, Caroline Gourley, added: “It is worrying that nurses and midwives do not have adequate protection in the workplace. Clearly, without safe staffing legislation in place, the HSE are going to continue to ignore the safe staffing policies. 

“Our colleagues are telling us clearly that they are struggling, they are stressed, and they are getting sick due to the unreasonable pressures of providing safe care in unsafe conditions. It is a question of basic forward planning to address these issues now, rather than putting it off indefinitely. By the time the health service has finished running this workforce into the ground it will be far too late.” 

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