Contracted baby hearing testers wear HSE logos

A private British company contracted by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide a hearing screening to newborns has refused to clarify why its employees wear uniforms bearing the HSE logo.

The screeners who provide the service have written to the Irish Examiner arguing that most parents are not aware that this relatively new service in Irish maternity hospitals is provided by Northgate Public Services, a subsidiary of Northgate Information Solutions UK Ltd, and not by the HSE.

“Screeners in Ireland are obliged to wear a uniform with the HSE logo, although their employer is Northgate. This leads parents to believe that we are HSE employees and as such, that we enjoy the same benefits as HSE employees,” the screeners wrote.

In fact, despite Northgate’s €3.8m annual contract with the HSE, the screeners claim they are paid “substantially less than HSE cleaners or care assistants”.

Additional claims made by the screeners include:

* On at least one occasion, screeners were not paid for hours worked;

* They are paid a flat rate of €11.28 per hour, even on a Sunday, which they say makes them “the lowest paid per hour employees in the hospital on that day”;

* Screeners are paid zero sick leave and have no pension entitlements;

nRecent proposals from Northgate suggest timing screeners for minutes spent per baby;

* Weekly wages range between €211.50 and €253.80, a rate screeners say is the “same as a community employment scheme, but with far greater levels of responsibility”.

Each of the above claims was put to the British company but none were addressed individually. In a statement, Northgate Public Services said it was “very experienced in managing screening services such as the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme”; that it worked in partnership with the HSE and that the service was closely monitored by the HSE “specifically around the performance of the service and we are meeting and exceeding many of our targets”.

Northgate said its staff were “intrinsic to the success of this visionary service in Ireland” and they valued their employees and were “fully compliant with all Irish legislation around employment pay and benefits”.

The HSE was unable to clarify why Northgate employees wear its logo and said it was a matter for the British company. However, Northgate also failed to clarify the issue. Nor did it respond to a query asking for a description of the qualifications its employees in Ireland are required to have in order to carry out the Newborn Hearing Screening tests.

The Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programme started in maternity hospital in the HSE South in 2011. It is now rolled out in HSE Dublin North East, Dublin Mid-Leinster and the South. HSE West is “going live” throughout 2013 and has already rolled out the programme in two hospitals.

The HSE said the contract was awarded to Northgate Information Solutions UK Limited as part of a competitive tender, and that €3.8m will be the full cost of the screening programme per year once it is rolled out.

“Northgate only receive payment once the screen is completed,” the HSE said.