Local Sinn Féin Deputy, Sorca Clarke, has expressed concern that the very low Government-imposed recruitment caps on the health service will undermine efforts to cut outsourcing and cut agency spending by €250 million.
Teachta Clarke said that it is clear change is needed to address the major issues in the health service in Westmeath so that patients can get the high-quality, timely healthcare that they need. However, government’s failure to plan and lack of ambition is undermining this.
“It’s clear that change is needed in Longford-Westmeath to deliver a health service that works for patients here. Sinn Féin has warned, for a long time, that the HSE is far too reliant on agency staffing and outsourcing. It is costly and inefficient, and we welcome that the Government has finally recognised this and changed its tune.
“However, at the same time as the Government are asking the HSE to cut agency staff, it is severely limiting the HSE’s ability to recruit new staff. The HSE can only recruit one-third of the number of net additional new staff as it has on average over the last three years.
“If you want to convert agency staff to direct employment, you need approved posts to employ them in. The Government’s plan of telling the HSE to cut agency staff and severely limiting the number of new staff it can recruit does not add up.
“The Government must revise the recruitment limits for 2024 and, if necessary, allocate specific posts for converting agency staff to direct employment.
“The Minister must also ensure that the HSE has enough posts to recruit all of the Irish healthcare graduates who will be looking to enter the workforce this summer. It would be a short-sighted disaster if the recruitment embargo meant that our graduates were forced into the private sector or abroad for employment rather than taking up posts here in Longford-Westmeath.
“If efforts to cut outsourcing, cut management consultancy, and cut agency staffing are to succeed, the HSE needs to be able to directly provide those services. It cannot be done with an unrealistic cap on recruitment.
“Sinn Féin’s Health spokesperson David Cullinane has produced a detailed, deliverable plan setting out how a Sinn Féin government would get to grips with the health system and deliver long-overdue and much-needed change. Patients in Longford-Westmeath deserve to have access to high-quality health care that they need, when they need it. It is time for change,” Teachta Clarke said.
