Approximately 94 per cent of nurses and midwives believe their work is having a negative impact on their psychological wellbeing, according to a survey conducted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
The union published the results at their annual delegate conference on Wednesday, adding that 89 per cent of respondents said they felt at least somewhat burnt out due to their work.
Two thirds of respondents said inadequate staffing levels are often or always putting patient safety at risk, while 85 per cent said current staffing levels cannot meet the demands of their workload.
"These results are very stark and unfortunately they don’t seem to be getting better," INMO president Karen McGowan said.
"There has been no opportunity for nurses and midwives to regain a stable footing since 2019, as it’s just been crisis after crisis in the health service since then. "
Ms McGowan added that the Covid pandemic being "bookended by absolutely staggering levels of overcrowding" has meant there has been no recovery time for nurses and midwives.
"This type of sustained stress over years and years has an absolutely crushing and traumatic effect on people, and these are the same people who are being asked to step up again and again to fill in the gaps. It’s just not sustainable."
"Our members are just not being protected from the long term physical and psychological effects of stress, and it’s simply irresponsible," she added.
INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha described this level of stress and burnout as being "devastating for individuals", but added it also has a knock-on effect on the whole health service.
"Almost three out of four of the nurses and midwives who responded to this survey have considered leaving their current work area.
"That means the fate of the entire health service is dependent on those people deciding to stick it out for another month or another year, whatever they feel they can do."
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said staffing is the biggest issue facing the health service and must be addressed.
"The failure to legislate on safe staffing is putting nurses and their patients at very serious risk, and action needs to be taken to address this once and for all," she said.
