HSE accused of wasting €112,000 on settled legal action

The HSE has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money after it threatened to take the Pensions Board to the High Court over its ruling on payments to an injured nurse, only to settle the case.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association’s director of industrial relations said that four staff nurses could have been hired with the money used to fight the case.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the issue arose due to a nurse who had suffered an injury and the INMO’s belief the HSE did not provide her with full entitlements under the Injury Grant Scheme.

The grant, provided for under the Superannuation Scheme, is an allowance paid to employees who are injured in the course of their duties.

The grant affords maximum allowance of five-sixths of the employee’s pay, but the amount is calculated based on their degree of impairment and as to how much they can contribute considering the injury.

The INMO said they believe that, given the nature of nursing work, any injury precludes them from being able to contribute to the role.

“We argued that when a nurse is out and cannot work, they cannot contribute to their own upkeep at all,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha told the Irish Examiner.

“Another worker with a broken wrist or maybe a broken finger may be able to go to work and contribute somewhat to their upkeep.

“Due to the physical nature of nursing, it’s impossible to contribute, therefore you are 100% disabled for the purpose of that scheme.”

However, the HSE disputed this and granted a lower allowance to the nurse. The INMO appealed the case to the Pensions Ombudsman, the arbitrator of the scheme, who ruled in favour of the union’s position.

The HSE then appealed the Ombudsman decision to the High Court.

“The nurse is sitting at home having been injured in the course of her duty: she might have been entitled to maybe €350 but what the HSE indicated was it would give her 30% of that,” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

“In the case of this particular woman, it would have meant she was on less than social welfare.”

Her grant was restored and the case between the HSE and the Ombudsman was settled before it reached the High Court.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the INMO learned the HSE spent €56,000 on the appeal and the union said it understands the Pensions Ombudsman, also a public body, spent a similar amount.

“In my opinion, that is a total waste of money,” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha, suggesting €112,000 would hire four staff nurses. She said the INMO is also concerned the HSE will not accept the decision as a precedent and will challenge similar cases in future.

“They have said they will treat every other case in the same way, and that they will force every nurse who is injured in the course of their duties, or us on their behalf, to take the case. Even if it is a mirror image,” she said.

A three-day INMO annual conference last week heard delegates call for a restoration of pay to 2008 levels, a reduction in working hours, and an increase in staffing levels.

The union said the Irish health system needs to fill more than 1,700 existing nursing vacancies to maintain existing services.

Delegates also called on the INMO to review its existing cooperation with the Lansdowne Road Agreement.