Concern over HSE recruitment pause

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has expressed grave concerns over the HSE decision to freeze recruitment at all levels.

The HSE on Friday announced it was imposing a recruitment freeze at all levels as it faced a €400m budget deficit by the end of the year, unless it controlled spending.

The IAEM said it is especially worried that the hiring of essential frontline staff to man 24-hour emergency departments will be prohibited from August 15.

It said a July survey of staffing levels in emergency departments showed there were already ongoing unacceptable levels of unfilled vacancies.

It is urging the HSE to urgently revise its position and to exempt emergency staff from the freeze, or smaller emergency departments will be forced to close and patients' lives put at risk.

Meanwhile an urgent care unit, which replaced the A&E department at Roscommon Hospital, will be reduced to operating 12 hours per day from today.

The HSE closed down the hospital's A&E department last month, deeming it unsafe for patients, and replaced it with the 24-hour urgent care unit.

However, the ongoing plan to reduce this from a 24 to 12 hours service from 8am to 8pm will be implemented today.

Patients in need of care will be referred to hospitals in surrounding areas.

Around 1,500 people took part in protests over the weekend in opposition to the decision.