HSE 'prioritise' infant checks amid shortage of public health nurses

There are 53 fewer public health nurses since December 2019.

The number of public health nurses has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, prompting the HSE to establish an oversight group in a bid to improve recruitment and retention.

The staffing crisis means some areas have had to put a priority system in place focusing on those patients with the greatest needs, the HSE said. These nurses work in the community delivering infant development checks, eye checks and act as a liaison between the elderly and health services, among other duties.

The latest census report shows by September there were 1,479 public health nurses (PHNs), a drop of 53 since the December 2019 figure of 1,532 - despite growing demand for community care. While 16 new nurses were brought onstream in August, this was followed by 13 leaving in September.

A national oversight group has been tasked to work on recruitment and retention across community nursing services, and is expected to report back with proposals, a HSE spokeswoman said.

“A small number of areas within Community Health Organisations in Dublin and Galway, have introduced a temporary prioritisation system while waiting to fill vacant posts but development checks have not ceased in these specific areas,” she said.

“There are no areas in the country that are without early development checks by PHNs.” Shortages in general are linked to retirement, internal movement and challenges in replacing staff, she said.

“We continue to prioritise and support patients who have the greatest need in the community,” she said. “The prioritisation system is limited to and only in place as a contingency in areas with acute PHN staffing issues”.

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She said the HSE do not report on vacant roles; approved roles are filled on a temporary basis while a full-time replacement is sought.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has raised concerns over what they see as a “severe shortage” of public health nurses.

“We know that there is currently a crisis in staffing in many areas including public health nursing. We need to see a sense of urgency from Government and the HSE to solve this issue,” the union said.

So far this year, 26,321 babies aged up to 12 months old were seen by PHNs for a child health and developmental assessment.

Some 91.2% of children referred for eye tests following PHN screening were found to need glasses and were seen sooner due to their test results, a Dublin-based study published in this month’s World of Irish Nursing found.