SIPTU member Paddy Dingle was elected on to the board of St. James's Hospital, Dublin, on Thursday (2nd May).

Out of the 498 workers who voted Paddy received 368 votes which saw him elected on the first round defeating candidates from Impact and the Craft unions. He will now serve as the non-clinical (support staff) worker representative on the 18-member board for a term of three to five years.

Paddy works as a healthcare attendant in the X-Ray Department and has served as a SIPTU Shop Steward in St. James for ten years, the last two as Chief Shop Steward. From Drimnagh, Paddy is well known in his local community as a boxing coach.

Paddy said: “I will be serving on the board during an important period for the hospital. St. James's will be the location of the new children’s hospital. The main issue I expect to be dealing with is the decanting of workers during the building phase, the threat of outsourcing and concerns such as car parking.”

Paddy added: “I would just like to thank all the SIPTU members and others who voted for me and say I’m looking forward to the challenge of representing them.”