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22/04/2009
Health Service Jobs' Crisis Warning
The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has complained about a possible 6,000 nursing jobs that could be lost in the next 20 months if current HSE proposals are followed.
INO's General Secretary, Liam Doran, warned about the draft document that the HSE has sent to managers and unions.
The measures that it involves include not filling the posts left vacant by resignation or retirement and to forbid the renewal of the temporary posts once expired.
This would mean cutting management and administrative grades by 500 this year, reducing its staff nurse levels by 700, and taking over 1,000 personnel off its books by transferring community welfare payments to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Moreover, according to the circular, local service and line managers could face disciplinary action if they breached these new restrictions.
The HSE proposed these measures after the Government introduced a moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service last month.
Mr Doran recognises the financial problem, but consider that the proposals are unacceptable: "This is an impossible circular from a nursing perspective to implement because it compromises the very essence of what nursing's about - patient care," he said.
HSE Director of Human Relations, Seán McGrath, underlined that this document "was circulated for feedback", and it wasn't supposed to be debated in public.
He referred to the INO complaint: "We're not talking about cutbacks, no one is losing their jobs, and what we are trying to do is optimise our resources . . . to best serve the needs of the organisation and the patients.
"What we are looking for is greater flexibility to redeploy and reassign our staff within the organisations," Mr McGrath said.
Meanwhile, in other health-related news, about 300 members of the Impact trade union at Sligo General Hospital are to ballot on industrial action.
Union leaders have claimed that what it described as a "number of unilateral decisions by hospital management" are "contrary to national agreements and labour court recommendations".
(AC/BMcC)
INO's General Secretary, Liam Doran, warned about the draft document that the HSE has sent to managers and unions.
The measures that it involves include not filling the posts left vacant by resignation or retirement and to forbid the renewal of the temporary posts once expired.
This would mean cutting management and administrative grades by 500 this year, reducing its staff nurse levels by 700, and taking over 1,000 personnel off its books by transferring community welfare payments to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Moreover, according to the circular, local service and line managers could face disciplinary action if they breached these new restrictions.
The HSE proposed these measures after the Government introduced a moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service last month.
Mr Doran recognises the financial problem, but consider that the proposals are unacceptable: "This is an impossible circular from a nursing perspective to implement because it compromises the very essence of what nursing's about - patient care," he said.
HSE Director of Human Relations, Seán McGrath, underlined that this document "was circulated for feedback", and it wasn't supposed to be debated in public.
He referred to the INO complaint: "We're not talking about cutbacks, no one is losing their jobs, and what we are trying to do is optimise our resources . . . to best serve the needs of the organisation and the patients.
"What we are looking for is greater flexibility to redeploy and reassign our staff within the organisations," Mr McGrath said.
Meanwhile, in other health-related news, about 300 members of the Impact trade union at Sligo General Hospital are to ballot on industrial action.
Union leaders have claimed that what it described as a "number of unilateral decisions by hospital management" are "contrary to national agreements and labour court recommendations".
(AC/BMcC)
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