AN INVESTIGATION IS to be launched into alleged discrimination and racism against an Indian nurse who worked at Cork University Hospital.
The Journal has learned that an external investigator was commissioned by the hospital after a formal complaint was made in relation to how one nurse was treated during the hospital’s adaptation programme by a senior staff member, as well as the manner in which she was told her employment would not be continuing.
The probe comes over a year after the hospital received a group letter, signed by 29 nurses making similar allegations in respect of attitudes displayed towards Indian nurses in the adaptation programme.
The petition was sent to CUH hospital management last year alleging “humiliation, discrimination… and derogatory comments” – behaviour they claim was perpetrated by one member of staff on day one of their theoretical classes, which go on for four weeks.
The signatories had all undertaken the adaptation programme in recent years, but in different groupings. The adaptation programme lasts for six to eight weeks, and during it, overseas nurses have their competency assessed before they become a registered nurse in Ireland.
The petition and the formal complaint were sent directly to the hospital’s interim CEO over a year ago.
It is understood the hospital has claimed that it took over a year to reply to one of the formal grievances due to a lack of “resources”. CUH has not responded to any of The Journal’s questions or numerous requests for comments on the grievances or related investigations.
The NMBI (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland), which is the statutory body that regulates the education, registration and conduct of nurses in Ireland, however, told The Journal that it is “aware of the issue” at CUH, and that it has “processes in place to address these issues”.
It said that it is “actively working with the provider in relation to the programme, and its governance and oversight”.
The petition from the 29 nurses claimed that one member of staff subjected a cohort of Indian nurses to racist verbal comments when they first arrived at the hospital. It was sent to the hospital’s higher management around April 2022.
The group of nurses described the treatment as “humiliating” and “degrading”. One nurse who has spoken to The Journal about her experience said it made her “mentally depressed and on edge”.
The nurses said that the staff member openly directed racial slurs and sentiments at them, including:
The petition also claims that, when leading theoretical classes in 2021, the staff member told a group of pre-registration nurses that Indian nurses have “no knowledge”.
“When they are being questioned they shake their heads sideways… (they exaggeratedly enacted it themselves while saying this)”, the petition reads.
The Journal asked CUH if the staff member in question wanted to offer a statement in relation to the allegations but no answer was forthcoming.
The petition also states that the nurses who signed it were worried “if we raise our voice, or if we question someone, it may adversely affect our adaptation programme, our visa permit, and our future life”.
“We have resigned from our existing jobs and moved here, returning jobless is not that easy… we are really worried to raise our voices, but at this stage, it is beyond the level that we can tolerate,” it adds.
The nurse who made the complaint which is now being externally investigated told The Journal that she believes that she was “arbitrarily” failed in her adaptation at CUH, after paying thousands to come to Ireland and go through the interview process, and leaving her previous job and family behind.
She won an appeal against the hospital’s decision with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) and is now working in another hospital.
Passing the adaptation programme is very important for overseas nurses who come to Ireland because it secures their registration, changes the status of their six-month visa, and allows them to bring their children and families over to join them.
The Indian nurses who came forward to sign this petition were informed, through the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, that CUH could not investigate a group petition, and that their concerns would only be addressed if they came forward individually and made formal grievances.
However, the HSE’s Dignity at Work Policy for the Public Health Service does not prohibit employers from addressing or investigating group complaints.
When asked why the petition was not dealt with, CUH did not respond to The Journal’s questions.
At least two nurses decided to come forward with official grievances. One of them has never had any further contact from the hospital on her complaint beyond an initial confirmation when they first spoke to The Journal. Since then, they have had some engagement from the hospital. The other only got a reply more than a year later.
The external investigator has since been tasked with examining if on the balance of probabilities that the behaviour complained of in the second grievance occurred, and if it did, if it falls within the definition of bullying or harassment in the Dignity at Work policy. As such, the hospital has yet to determine whether the complaints are valid.
The 29 nurses who signed the initial petition asked the hospital to take “strict action” to ensure that no similar incidents would occur in the future, and to take a zero-tolerance approach to bullying.
Over a year on, the nurses who spoke to The Journal feel that no such action has been taken, and that they have not had justice.
CUH did not respond to questions or requests for comment despite multiple attempts by The Journal over the past week.
The NMBI has the ability to approve or suspend adaptation programmes in Irish hospitals.
Its full statement to The Journal said: “The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) is aware of the issue.
“As the regulator of the professions, NMBI has processes in place to address these issues and we are actively working with the provider in relation to the programme, and its governance and oversight.”
Coming to Ireland to work as a nurse from overseas can cost applicants thousands of euro, and many have been left struggling to find accommodation once they work here, or left feeling “abandoned” if they fail the assessment programme or aptitude test needed to become registered.
According to a count conducted last year, there are over 12,000 Indian nurses working in the Irish health system. As the HSE is facing a continuing staffing crisis, international recruitment has become essential to filling empty posts. The health service pays private recruitment companies millions to source healthcare workers domestically and from overseas.
In the first four months of this year, 2,227 of the nurses who became newly registered with the NMBI came from outside of the EU, compared to just 56 nurses who came from inside of the EU.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say