July 15, 2024
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has lifted its recruitment freeze, which was put into effect last October. The termination of this freeze was confirmed by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster yesterday.
Initially, the embargo was extended in November to encompass all categories of staff, except for consultants, doctors in training, and nurses and midwives who graduated last year. However, the government announced last week that the HSE would receive an additional €1.5 billion in funding. This funding is deemed necessary to enhance the quality of healthcare, address the complexity of providing health services, and manage the legacy impacts of the post-pandemic period and heightened inflationary pressures.
Mr. Gloster stated that approximately 900 equivalent agency full-time posts will be converted to HSE posts within this year. Despite this conversion, the anticipated reduction in agency use will only amount to €80 million this year, falling short of the previously projected €250 million reduction.
“Dependency on agency staff in 2019 cost €423 million, which nearly doubled to €787 million in 2023. We have seen a slight increase on that figure again,” Mr. Gloster noted.
To ensure the stability of services and prevent overexpenditure, Mr. Gloster highlighted that strict recruitment limits and controls have been established for different regions. These controls are designed to prevent a repeat of previous issues where services exceeded their budgetary limits.
“The limit is now assigned to a region, encompassing both hospital and community settings, which allows for a better response to the population’s needs and prioritization,” Mr. Gloster explained. He emphasized that only about ten individuals nationwide will be authorized to add new employees to the payroll system.
The recruitment ceiling for the HSE is currently set at 125,400 whole-time equivalents, excluding 20,000 positions in disability services as of December 31, 2023. By the end of this year, the affordable ceiling will increase to 129,700, which includes around 2,300 new development posts within the allocated budget.
Mr. Gloster concluded by saying, “This is a significant development, and it demonstrates our commitment to enhancing healthcare services while maintaining financial prudence.”
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