Dear member,

The IACCN wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of it’s members and all our critical care colleagues who are facing challenging times ahead, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IACCN supports the governmental decision on school closures, cancellation of mass gatherings and social distancing to limit the impact this virus may have on our already overstretched health care system.

The highly educated and specialised skills of the critical care nurse are now more than ever required at the forefront of health care provision and we may have to consider more innovative ways of working together, both locally and nationally as we prepare for a surge in demand. Already, we have seen a great sharing of resources between organisations coupled with the support of our academic partners. This is to be commended as we can learn many lessons from each other as well as from those countries already affected. As the situation rapidly evolves, we encourage all critical care nurses to seek advice from reliable sources such as the WHO, HSE and HPSC websites and to visit these sites regularly to keep updated.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on many aspects of critical care including congresses and conferences around the world. After much careful consideration, the IACCN and BACCN NI have agreed to cancel our upcoming All Ireland Critical Care Nursing Conference scheduled for 14th May 2020 in Belfast. Although this is very disappointing, we believe it is the right decision as the critical care community will still be under great pressure and a conference at this time would not be feasible. If you have any queries regarding this cancellation, please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@iaccn.ie

In the year of the nurse, we encourage critical care nurses to support each other during this difficult time, strictly follow hand hygiene and PPE guidelines to ensure your safety and that of your patients and colleagues. If there is some support you would like from the IACCN, again please do not hesitate to contact us.

Finally, please remember to take time for yourself, to rest and recuperate both physically and mentally to ensure you are in your best health in order to help others.

Yours sincerely,

Serena O’Brien