Hospital staff ‘had to bring work home’

Clerical administrative staff at Ennis Hospital were provided with computer memory sticks to complete their work at home in the evenings and at weekends on an unpaid basis, a nursing union has claimed.

The Impact union had to instruct its members not to remove any HSE documentation in hard or electronic format from the hospital for completion outside normal working hours.

The work included letters to patients informing them of appointments and insurance claims verification — but excluded medical records or information about individual medical conditions.

With some low-paid staff working more than 10 additional hours a week on an unpaid basis without any extra leave, the union also warned that chronic staffing shortages are resulting in “clinical and corporate risks” to patients and staff.

If another two full-time clerical officers leave and aren’t replaced, the union claimed proper day-to-day administration of the hospital would collapse.

Impact’s Andy Pike estimates that between 15 and 20 clerical administrative members have left through retirement or voluntary redundancy without any replacement due to lack of recruitment in this grade at the hospital since 2006.

A spokesman for HSE Mid-West said any union concerns could be raised through the established procedures.