Head of suicide office threatens to resign

THE director of the National Office for Suicide Prevention has threatened to resign over staffing issues in his office which he says are “seriously impeding” its work.

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal the growing frustrations of the NOSP’s director, Geoff Day, over the loss of an administrative post which has been vacant for eight months.

In a series of internal HSE letters, Mr Day expresses his concern and warns he will have “no choice” but to consider his position as director of the NOSP if the post is not filled. It is understood that to date, the issue has not been resolved.

The worsening recession is putting added pressure on suicide support groups and services, with suicide prevention service Pieta House estimating there are at least 10 deaths from suicide every week in Ireland.

Mr Day wrote that the work of the NOSP, which has already been curtailed due to the lack of the post, will be reduced even further if the position is not filled.

This, he says, is likely to lead to:

* An inability to fully meet the objectives set out for the NOSP in the 2011 HSE service plan;

* An inability to respond to written requests from the Department of Health and to answer parliamentary questions;

* Growing public anger at not receiving replies through the email or phone service;

* A delay in completing the annual report on suicide prevention.

The issue first arose in December 2010 when the person who was in the grade IV administrative role left under the voluntary redundancy package. As the moratorium on recruitment means that no administrative workers can be hired, the position has to be filled from within the HSE.

Mr Day put forward an “expression of interest” to seek someone from within the executive, but, to date, there has been no success.

Although a suitable candidate was interviewed and identified for the post, this was subject to the woman’s line manager agreeing to release her.

“I am now in the position that after five months I still have no administrative support,” Mr Day wrote in May. “The work of this office is now seriously impeded and this current situation cannot continue. I, therefore, propose to provide you with a list of tasks which, from a determined date, will not be carried out by me.”

The situation sheds light on the impact the moratorium is having throughout the HSE and on the inflexibility of re-deploying staff from one area to another through agreed processes.

In his letters, Mr Day, who acknowledges the pressure senior figures have applied to try to get the suitable candidate moved, makes reference to the lack of a policy on this, calling it the “root cause” of the issue.

“This example does not bode well for the supposed flexibility which is required into the future,” he wrote.

The letter, dated June, says he and the NOSP team will not continue to carry out the additional work.

“I have to consider not only my own health and well-being, but also the health and well-being of the other members of the team,” he said.