HSE recruitment ban to continue

A BAN on staff recruitment to the health service is to continue for the month of November, the Health Service Executive confirmed last night.

The further extension of the embargo — as part of the HSE end-of-year break-even plan — was not unexpected and unions representing health workers believe it will remain in place until the end of the year.

Yesterday, Finbarr Fitzpatrick, general secretary of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said they were disappointed the ban was to remain in place.

Since the freeze, hospital doctors have cited bed closures, cancellations of scheduled surgery (with a knock-on effect on waiting lists), and cancellations of outpatient clinics.

However, a spokesman for the HSE said last night they were continuing to make exceptions to the staff freeze, introduced in September. “There have been 196 posts approved since the recruitment embargo, mainly among frontline staff, the majority being nurses,” he said. A central HSE committee considers these exemptions on a weekly basis, he said.

Patient lobby group, Patients Together, said the cutbacks continued to affect patient care. Spokeswoman Janette Byrne said they were now referring to the Department of Health as the “Department of Hell”.

The HSE’s recruitment freeze is a bid to reduce its financial deficit, which is currently running at more than €200 million.