by Louise Doyle
A DONEGAL nurse has been awarded €9,380 after a complaint she lodged to the Workplace Relations Commission claiming that HSE North West failed to provide her with rest breaks was upheld.
The HSE has been ordered to pay the sum to Ms Gallagher.
It follows a recent WRC hearing and adjudication, which took place over two hearings in Letterkenny Courthouse.
Ms Gallagher qualified in nursing in 2016. She initially worked in the national forensic mental health services until 2020 when she took up a post in Galway Roscommon mental health services.
In September 2022, she returned to Donegal to take up a position as a staff nurse in Donegal intellectual disability services in a day centre in Killybegs, where she was employed until the following year.
This placement was her first experience of working in the area of intellectual disability.
From the very beginning of commencing her position in Killybegs, Ms Gallagher said she immediately became concerned when she was told that her rest breaks were to be taken with the service users, meaning she would not get an uninterrupted break.
There was no staff room available for staff to get away from the job and avail of rest breaks.
Ms Gallagher, who worked as a nurse at Clara House intellectual disability services centre, claimed she was denied uninterrupted rest breaks during her employment in 2022-2023.
Ms Gallagher told of how she was required to take her breaks in the same room as service users.
She claimed that this resulted in her sometimes having to feed a service user, supervise a service user, cut up food for a service user at the same time as she was supposedly taking her rest breaks.
When she raised the issue with her manager, she was told “you’re on a paid break which means a working break”.
She said this happened nearly every day and every break.
At times while eating her lunch or having a cup of tea, she was also feeding or helping a service user. There was in reality no rest break provided.
She accepted that the alleged rest break breaches occurred between September 2022 and February 13, 2023. She left the service in April 2023.
STAFFING
In her evidence, Ms Gallagher also claimed that she was often the only nurse on duty, and that Clara House was understaffed with a lack of health care assistants.
A trained clinician, such as a registered nurse is required to be present with service users at all times, even if there are other health care workers present.
This is due to the obligation to keep the service users safe when they are in the centre.
She said that there should be two nurses on each day shift, but that was often not the case.
Manager of Clara House, Carmel Boyle, gave evidence regarding statutory rest breaks.
She told the WRC that statutory breaks are provided to all staff. She told of how break times are allocated in time slots, and are posted on a staff notice board each morning.
Ms Boyle said that during a rest break if a staff member needs to leave the building that she or another member of management needs to be informed because the supervision of service users needs to be continuous.
It is only, if and when adequate cover is in place, that a staff member may be permitted to leave the building during their rest break.
This is in case there is an emergency or if a staff member calls for assistance.
She said rest breaks are usually required to be taken by staff in a shared dining room alongside service users.
Ms Boyle added that service users treat Clara House as their home and for this reason there is no separate room into which staff may go and service users may not.
That is the nature of the care that is provided to service users within an intellectual disability setting.
‘WELL FOUNDED’
WRC adjudication officer, Emile Daly said that Ms Gallagher’s complaint was “well founded”.
She said: “I consider that the appropriate award that should be awarded to the Complainant is ten weeks gross salary, which is agreed is the sum of €9,380.”
Ms Gallagher told the Donegal News afterwards: “This has impacted numerous staff across the Intellectual Disability Donegal Service, and also highlights the lengthy grievance procedures staff have to endure to have concerns addressed outside of policy deadlines.”
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