HSE unsure if agency workers were vetted
An unpublished investigation by the HSE’s own auditors has revealed the concern was raised with senior management last autumn.
Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner show an internal probe was carried out at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick last year.
It specifically warned of oversights in agency worker junior doctor files.
According to the findings, published for the first time today, out of 22 agency junior doctors’ files examined:
* None contained details on whether any Garda vetting took place.
* 18 had no information on whether occupational health checks occurred.
* Just under half could not confirm whether Medical Council registration was required.
* Only 12 had the necessary references from previous employers.
“Garda vetting and health screening assurances cannot be provided... as there was no evidence of relevant documents on files examined,” the audit team noted.
This is in breach of HSE agency worker use guidelines at that time, which said any locum employee had to undergo these pre-employment checks to reduce patient risk.
In February 2010, these guidelines were further detailed in a HSE national framework agreement.
The situation follows an Irish Examiner investigation in May, which revealed that 163 people who were due to work in hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities were blocked from the roles after failing standard Garda vetting checks.
Between January 2008 and last December, 52,667 HSE applications were sent to the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU), which is itself at risk of cutbacks.
Of these, 163 people were prevented from taking up their posts.
These relate to previous convictions serious enough to cause a potential threat to vulnerable patients.
The 2010 HSE internal audit also noted that “environmental factors such as a shortage of doctors, reduction in training posts and shorter working weeks” will lead to increasing agency costs and service delays.
This warning was made almost a year before yesterday’s confirmation that the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick was already €14 million over its budget by May this year — the highest in the country.
Figures published by this newspaper on Thursday show that in 2009 the facility spent €440,243 on agency medics to fill recruitment-embargo caused staff gaps. This rose to €865,040 in 2010, and hit €350,640 between January and March 2011.
This means an agency worker cost of close to €1.4m can be expected for the hospital in 2011, the biggest annual agency expense in its history.
* FOCionnaith.direct@examiner.ie
