HSE facing calls to defend decision to launch a controversial new job specification

Cork councillor and clinical psychologist Liam Quaide said the appointment itself 'needs to be referred to the Oireachtas Health Committee for scrutiny'.

The HSE is facing calls to defend its decision to launch a controversial new job specification without consulting with unions and staff.

Last week the HSE “paused” its competition to recruit a Director of Psychology for the southwest, a job spec which had caused an industrial relations row given it would have seen some psychiatric nurses overseen by the psychology service, rather than the local director of nursing.

In pausing the campaign, a move which several unions had called for, the HSE’s regional executive officer Andy Phillips acknowledged that the service did “move ahead very quickly” in running the recruitment competition, and said he wished to “humbly apologise” to HSE workers who had been angered by the creation of the new role.

It’s understood that the HSE has now brought a revised job specification to the unions, including the Psychiatric Nurses Association, a spec in which the language used in the initial competition, which closed on August 1, has been revised.

Feedback from unions requested

Feedback from the unions regarding that updated specification has been requested before the end of this working week.

However, local Cork councillor and clinical psychologist Liam Quaide said the appointment itself “needs to be referred to the Oireachtas Health Committee for scrutiny”.

“Instead of committing to significant frontline staffing increases in Cork/Kerry primary care psychology, a new layer of management is being proposed,” Mr Quaide said, in reference to the significant increase seen in waiting lists for child psychology appointments in the region over the past five years.

A HSE spokesperson said the recruitment campaign would “only recommence once we are satisfied that we have consulted appropriately”, with that consultation to include “psychology managers and psychologists via their unions”.

They added that it is expected that “there will be changes to the job specification following this consultation”.

The new role as initially advertised comes with a base starting salary of €120,000.