‘Pregnant nurses out sick at cost of health service’

PREGNANT nurses who are increasingly taking extended sick leave prior to commencing maternity leave are doing so at a huge cost to the health service, according to a Health Service Executive (HSE) human resources chief.

Barry O’Brien, HR assistant national director HSE South, said the growing trend applied to female staff across the board.

His claim was made in response to criticism from the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) of poor staffing levels across the health sector compounded by a HSE embargo on boosting numbers beyond 2007 levels.

“There is a new phenomenon becoming attached to the high levels of sick leave we are experiencing in the health sector,” said Mr O’Brien.

“For example, previously not experienced, but right across all employers, prior to taking maternity leave now, the vast majority of people availing of maternity leave... they are taking four to six weeks’ sick leave,” said Mr O’Brien.

Speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, Mr O’Brien said the pattern “which seems to be emerging”, was “impossible to predict” and responsible for staff shortages in some quarters.

The INO described Mr O’Brien’s claim as a “serious allegation”.

INO industrial relations director Dave Hughes said nurses were “no worse” than any other group of workers when it came to taking sick leave.

“I don’t think there is any particular trend, but nurses do work in hospitals, where there is a lot of sickness and disease and health and safety is an issue, particularly for pregnant women who have to be careful. But I wouldn’t accept sick leave among nurses is a problem as opposed to any other group.”

Mr Hughes said it was important to remember nursing was a “predominantly female workforce”, so issues regarding women automatically multiplied.

The INO again criticised the HSE decision, publicised this week, not to renew nursing contracts at hospitals in the midlands, particularly among nurses on “if and when” contracts, where employment is at the whim of the employer and dictated by need.

” ‘If and when’ contracts are not complying with the law and the HSE does know this because it’s already been found in a Labour Court determination to be contrary to proper law,” Mr Hughes said.

However Mr O’Brien said he did not accept that “if and when” contracts were illegal and that they were necessary in a health service where staff turnover was high, and where there were high levels of sick leave, annual leave and maternity leave. He said the HSE replaced people on sick/maternity leave, but Mr Hughes said this applied only to a “tiny minority”.

Mr Hughes said the notion of each hospital having a fully funded staff complement was meaningless in the context of a HSE circular on January 8 this year which said staffing levels were not to rise above the level of December 31, 2007.