Consultant staffing figures unclear

CONFLICTING information has been provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE) about the extent of consultant staffing levels for acute hospitals in the Mid-West.

 

There were 25 consultant vacancies at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, one at Ennis Hospital and three in Clare Mental Health Services, according to information provided in a Dáil reply to Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams.

Deputy Adams was told by the HSE the general purpose of the moratorium on recruitment and promotion is to facilitate a permanent structural reduction in the numbers of staff serving in the public service and to contribute significant and ongoing savings to the Exchequer.

He was also informed vacancies arise from time to time in different specialities due to a number of reasons, including the moratorium on recruitment and the difficulty in recruiting consultants.
However, in a statement issued to The Clare Champion, the Mid-West HSE stated there were six vacancies for consultants in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick in radiology, medicine, cardiology and oral maxillofacial surgery.

Successful candidates have been selected for these posts and their appointments are going through the various stages of the recruitment process.

Commenting on the figures, Sinn Féin’s Clare spokesperson, Anne Hayes, said this revelation comes on the back of a recent issue surrounding coronary care in Limerick Hospital.

Ms Hayes claims she met one person who has been waiting four years to get an initial consultation and another who has been told they will be waiting at least three years for one.

“We have all heard the horror stories. People should be treated promptly on the basis of need, not on whether they can afford to go private. The establishment parties need to change their attitude towards the sick and vulnerable in this state. We will continue to hold them to account unless they do,” she said.

Ms Hayes pointed out anyone who has spent time in acute hospitals knows how much they are struggling and that they are chronically under-staffed.

She claimed that when services were being downgraded at Ennis Hospital, Fianna Fáil promised that extra resources would be made available in Limerick to ensure Clare people got the treatment they deserved, which didn’t happen.

Commenting on the letter sent to Gerry Adams she expressed concern about the desire of the HSE to fill these posts.

“Clare has three Government TDs. They or their colleagues sat on the committee to fight against the downgrading of the county hospital but they have turned their backs on the people since going into government,” she claimed.

The Mid-West HSE stated seven posts have been filled permanently in Limerick Hospital and these are in the areas of emergency medicine, geriatric medicine, otolaryngology, microbiology, rheumatology and obstetrics and gynecology.

“A further six posts in anesthetics, urology and radiology have been filled by locums and are due to be filled by permanent incumbents after the completion of the recruitment process for these posts. Despite advertisement, two posts in histopathology have not been filled permanently and these are currently filled by locums.

“Over the past five years there have been major advances in the region in the provision of consultant services in rheumatology, neurology and dermatology,” the HSE explained.

It added that vacant posts in Mental Health Services are being filled by locums, pending filling in the normal way.