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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Feb 2000

Vol. 514 No. 6

Written Answers. - Nursing Staff.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

209 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of nursing posts vacant in acute public hospitals. [5154/00]

The most recent survey of nursing vacancies, carried out by the Health Service Employers Agency – HSEA – related to the position at the end of September 1999. It found that the reported number of vacancies in gross terms was 1,180.46 whole time equivalents. When overtime and the use of agency nurses are taken into account, the net figure is 428.18 wte. As in previous studies, the results again confirm that there is not a nation-wide problem regarding the availability of nurses and that difficulties largely relate to the greater Dublin area.

It should also be noted that nurse recruitment is carried out on an ongoing basis in most hospitals and the level of vacancies fluctuate accordingly. At any given time, significant numbers of nurses would be in the process of being appointed by employers or moving from one employment to another. This is illustrated by a telephone survey of five major voluntary hospitals in Dublin which was carried out by my Department within the past few days, and which found that the position in three, Beaumont, the Mater and St. James's, had improved while the position in Tallaght and St. Vincent's, Elm Park had disimproved.

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