No clarity on winter plan recruitment but HSE says staff numbers up by 4,800 this year

The HSE hopes to recruit 5,000 staff by the end of December – half for core health services and half for the Covid-19 response. Picture: Larry Cummins

It is not clear how many new staff have been recruited under a winter plan target for 5,000 extra healthcare staff before the end of the year but overall HSE staffing numbers are up by 4,800 in 2020.

Under a €600m winter plan announced in September, the HSE had committed to recruiting 12,500 additional staff between October and April next year, with a target of 5,000 of those by the end of December.