Paul Hosford: Paul Reid's early departure another blow for HSE

Across Government, there is genuine surprise at Reid's decision and its timing

After two years of firefighting through Covid and the HSE cyberattack, a government source suggested that Paul Reid may have looked at the wholesale changes required and decided that his five-year term, due to end in May 2024, was simply not enough time to turn the ship around. File picture: Sam Boal

As Paul Reid, the face of the health service in Ireland for the last three years spoke to RTÉ's This Week on Sunday, there was no sign that he was preparing to announce his departure from the role.

Reid was grilled by the programme's host, Justin McCarthy, on the response to the summer wave of Covid-19, vacant posts in disability services and Navan Hospital. It was not a valedictory or retrospective interview.