Bernard Allen
Ceist:80 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health the number of social workers operating in the Southern Health Board area; and the measures he proposes to take to rectify the shortage of social workers in the region.
Written Answers. - Social Worker Staffing Levels.
There was a wholetime equivalent total of 52.43 social workers employed in the Southern Health Board area in December 1989. The staff involved were employed by the Southern Health Board, voluntary hospitals and mental handicap agencies. The December 1990 Health Service Personnel Census is currently being validated.
Under the personnel policy which applies in the health services, it is a matter for the employing authorities to determine the appropriate staffing level in each of their institutions and programmes within their approved employment ceiling and financial allocation. Within these overall constraints it would be open to the authorities to improve the social worker staffing levels if it were felt that this was justified.