Nurses forced to commute long distances after working 12 and 13-hour shifts are "being put seriously at risk", experts have warned. (stock image)

Nurses forced to commute long distances after working 12 and 13-hour shifts are "being put seriously at risk", experts have warned.

Due to the lack of affordable accommodation in cities like Dublin, Waterford and Galway, some nurses find themselves left with no choice but to drive long distances.

Hospitals are also understaffed and "many nights, nurses don't even get their breaks and are then commuting home," said Phil Ní Sheaghdha, General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The INMO is concerned about the safety of nurses who are travelling home after working night shifts, while the Road Safety Authority says shift workers are among those "most at risk" on Irish roads.

One young nurse has told how she fell asleep at the wheel while driving home after working a 12-hour night shift in a Dublin hospital.

Luckily, she was stuck in rush-hour traffic at the time and was awoken by a frustrated driver blowing the horn behind her.

Nobody was injured but this wasn't the first time she had dozed off while driving.

After returning home from living in Australia, it took Ann* over three months to find somewhere she could afford to live.

She commuted to work every day for 12 weeks and faced a three-hour round trip on top of her long shifts.

"I fell asleep sitting in traffic so I was lucky that I wasn't moving at the time. Everyone else is trying to get into work while you're just leaving after a long night shift at the wrong time," she told Independent.ie.

"You're up at 5am, and you don't get home until 9pm at night. There was a good few times where I drifted off at the wheel but luckily nothing happened.

"If you were allowed to have a quick break and try get some sleep for an hour it might help, but we're not allowed to sleep on the job as there's nobody to cover you. You're looking after 39 people and some of them are very sick, so you always have to have someone on the floor.

"I don't know how people do it [commute long distances]. It's terrible. It adds on so much to your day.

"If you get the bus, it would take even longer to get home and you would have to pay for taxis out of your money as the HSE don't cover travel expenses."

Others have highlighted how using public transport would work out more expensive in the long run and would add on even more time to the journey to and from work.

Aoife Butler (23) works as a psychiatric nurse in Co Waterford and had to make a three-hour round trip from Co Wexford.

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"It was very hard at times. I would have had to pull in and have a cat nap on occasion even before I got into work, especially during the winter months. I travelled on secondary roads for the first part of the journey and I found the bad weather and the dark mornings and nights difficult at times to concentrate.

"If I did a day shift I was doing 16 hour days; 13 hour shifts 7:30-8:30 then an hour and a half drive each side. So I was working and travelling more than the time I actually got to sleep. Near Christmas I was doing extra shifts to help out others with kids, I’d organise to stay with my auntie but that was still nearly an hour drive away.

"I get so frustrated talking about nursing at times with all the flaws and little appreciation the profession gets anymore - especially from the government. The good we do is often the last thing thought about with all that’s wrong with the system."

Aoife eventually found accommodation in Waterford, but says nurses who would prefer to be based in their own home counties are forced to go elsewhere.

"I’d rather be able to live closer to home especially in the future but the lack of services in the Wexford mental heath service, especially the acute admissions service, has had an effect," Aoife said.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has written to the government raising concerns about nurses travelling to and from work "several times".

The INMO also stated in its pre-budget submission that new hospitals, such as the National Children's Hospital, should have affordable housing nearby.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, INMO General Secretary, said: "Nurses and midwives are being hit by a low pay double whammy. When they’re in work, they’re busier than ever, as low wages mean the service is understaffed.

"Many nights, nurses don't even get their breaks, working a full 13 hour shift without reprieve. When they leave work, long journeys to affordable accommodation are now a common feature. As a result, staff are burning out and patient care is endangered.

"This is yet another problem in our health service which could be resolved by paying nurses and midwives a fair, competitive wage for the vital work they do."

According to the Road Safety Authority, research has shown that tired drivers are a major road safety risk, both to themselves and to others.

"Research indicates that driver fatigue could be a contributory factor in 1 in 5 driver deaths in Ireland," the RSA says.

"Those particularly at high risk include night workers - especially after the first night of a shift when the body has not acclimatised to a change in sleep patterns. Also people driving home after a night shift in the early morning. At this time of the day we are naturally at our least alert. This, coupled with tiredness from a hard night's work, makes early morning driving particularly dangerous."

A HSE spokesperson said "as with all other public servants no travel expenses to and from work are reimbursed. Nurses may request shifts based on their personal preferences and commuting requirements and, where possible, these requests are facilitated."

*Ann's name was changed as she wishes to remain anonymous

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