[ad_1]
Thousands of extra staff will be hired by the Health Service Authority this year despite an ongoing recruitment pause, a parliamentary committee will hear on Wednesday.
HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster will tell committee members that the health service now has by far the largest workforce, having increased by 21.8% since the end of 2019.
He will also outline that at the “peak” of the recruitment pause in December, staff numbers rose by 933 and continued to grow in January, particularly in the care sector.
“Despite the control measures and affordability actions, at least 2,268 new development roles will be recruited across our health sector and 683 roles across disability services this year,” he will tell the Irish parliament’s health committee.
In November last year, the HSE recruitment ban was extended to almost all staff, with the exception of consultants, doctors in training and 2023 graduate nurses and midwives. Previously, the freeze had only targeted managerial and executive positions.
The move, an attempt to tighten spending amid severe budget overruns in 2023, was criticized by employees and the unions representing them.
Mr Gloucester will tell the committee he is “acutely aware of the challenges and concerns surrounding the recruitment pause over the past few months. It is clear that internal controls and optimal utilization of the staff we employ are at the heart of our responsibility to the public” … It is clear that starting in the second half of 2023, the pace of hiring was and is unsustainable.”
In 2023, the HSE workforce saw its highest ever net growth, with an increase of 8,239 employees and 39 establishments.
In his opening remarks, Mr Gloucester said: “This increase contrasts with the average increase of 4,690 over the past five years and far exceeds even the highest increase in the most recent year driven by Covid-19, which was 6,361 in 2020. .”
Gaza casts shadow on St. Patrick’s Day travel
He will also outline how employee turnover has improved, “reducing 1.3% in 2023”, “which is important given the size of our workforce and the upward trend in previous years”.
“With the support of the HSE Board, I am determined to ensure that our management of approved workforce levels is such that we no longer need to take arbitrary measures at national level (such as moratoriums) and that the best productivity benefits for the public are achieved through our most valuable assets – our workforce to make it happen.”
The HSE has been awarded an overall financial package of €23.5 billion. Of this amount, the Ministry of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth provided €2.8 billion for specialized disability services.
A further €90 million is expected to be allocated for new health developments.
Mr Gloucester is expected to be questioned by the Transport Agency about his plans to cut waiting lists and tackle waiting times. The HSE plans to allocate an additional €56 million for emergency beds, diagnostics and waiting list action plans to address access and capacity issues.
He will also be asked about the organization’s national service plans for this year. It warned that despite upcoming cuts to agency staff and overtime, the cost of running HSE services over the next 12 months will “exceed the total available funding”.
Mr Gloucester is expected to point to the establishment of a joint productivity working group between the Department of Health and the HSE, which will “enable us to deliver more activities using broadly the same resources to meet the needs of the public, particularly access needs”.
[ad_2]
Source link