There is public outcry this morning after the HSE have confirmed they have suspended the recruitment of doctors, nurses and midwives in hospitals with immediate effect.
The struggling health service will no longer be hiring much needed staff after the state authority issued a memo to all Hospitals nationwide telling them not to employee any medical personal even if there is expressed interest.
Reports say the HSE purposely requested that all major Hospitals halt their recruitment process until after they conduct a full review into staffing and pay bill management.
The HSE released the following statement which reads: “Pending agreement and approval of a workforce plan for each hospital group, the groups have been advised of a requirement to pause on any further additions to payroll.
“While contractual commitments will need to be honoured, the groups have been advised that no further offers should be made without the signed agreement of the hospital group chief executive officer.”
The health authority further explained that all medical position were currently “being actively monitored at group level and national level to ensure that clinical risks are appropriately managed”. Although they did state that: “Specific exemptions have been determined for areas where funding has been agreed, and in areas of critical care and of emergency services.”
However the news has not gone down well with many of the country’s hospital management teams with many questioning the HSE’s sudden and unexpected decision.
Meanwhile the head of the health division of the state trade union SIPTU, Paul Bell, slammed the outrageous decision labeling it “deeply disturbing”.
Mr Bell told reporters: “The HSE never consulted with our members prior to announcing its decision to health service staff on Thursday that it had suspended recruitment.
“The impact of this decision cannot be understated. It will lead to a severe reduction in crucial patient services while critical vacancies across the service remain unfilled.”
The sudden decision by the healthy authority comes after the Health Department only recently revealed that the country’s health service is being plunged further into the red with a reported 500m overspend in 2015.