Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 June 2004
24 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps being taken to deal with the shortage of nurses after a recent HSEA survey found that nearly 700 nursing jobs remain unfilled around the country. [18371/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Employers Agency conducts quarterly surveys of nursing vacancies. Its latest survey is for the month ending 31 March. It contains a breakdown by hospital or health board and voluntary agency and I shall forward a copy to the Deputy.
All sectors reported that recruitment was well ahead of resignations and retirements. However, employers reported that 705 vacancies existed at 31 March 2004, a decrease from 947 vacancies in March 2003. The combination of utilising agency nurses and overtime adequately compensates for the shortfall.
The number of vacancies as at 31 March 2004 represents a substantial decrease from the end of September 2000 when employers reported 1,388 vacancies. The latest figure represents a reduction of 49%.
The current vacancy rate of 1.76% has been declining steadily in recent years. It could be considered as the normal frictional rate given that there will always be some level of movement due to resignations, retirements and nurses availing of opportunities to change employment and locations.
The Government has been concerned about the recruitment and retention of adequate numbers of nursing staff for some time. A number of substantial measures were introduced in recent years. The number of nursing training places was increased by 70% since 1998 to 1,640 from 2002 onwards. A comprehensive range of financial supports were introduced to support nurses in pursuing part-time degrees and specialist courses, including back to practice courses. Since 1998 nurses have been paid for overtime. Previously they were given time off in lieu. The introduction of payment represents a further significant financial incentive for nurses.
In February 2001 I introduced a scheme of flexible working arrangements for nurses and midwives. Individual nurses and midwives may apply to work between eight and 39 hours per week on a permanent, part-time basis. The figure of 33,765 wholetime equivalent nurses working in the health service translates into 40,119 nurses. Of these 29,629 work full-time and 10,490 job-share or work other atypical patterns. More than one quarter of the nursing workforce avails of family-friendly work patterns.
In 1998 there were 26,612 wholetime equivalent nurses employed in the public health system. By the end of December 2003 it was 33,765, an increase of over 7,150 during the period or 26.8%. It is clear that the recruitment and retention measures I introduced have proved effective.
The promotional structure in nursing, including the introduction of a clinical career pathway, was substantially improved on foot of the recommendations of the commission on nursing and the nurses' pay settlement in 1999. The national council for the professional development of nursing and midwifery was especially active in the area. To date 1,563 clinical nurse specialist and advanced nurse practitioner posts have been created.
Figures from An Bord Altranais for the same period indicate that there is a steady stream of new entrants into the profession. It is over and above those graduating from the Irish system and further increases the potential recruitment pool. Since 1998 there was a total of 19,945 nurses newly registered by the board of which 13,658 were overseas nurses.
The continuing attractiveness of nursing as a career for school leavers and mature code applicants is evident by the number of course applicants. For example, there are 8,300 applications for 1,640 places in the autumn 2004 intake. It is encouraging given that there is an ever-increasing array of attractive alternatives provided by our third level education system.
In late 2003 my Department approved the roll-out of the health care assistant training programme on a national basis. It fulfils a key recommendation of the nursing commission. The main objective of the programme is to upskill health care assistants so that, working under the supervision of nurses, they are enabled to take on a wider range of duties. They will free up nursing resources and will concentrate on nursing tasks exclusively.
Earlier I referred to the HSEA surveys. They also contain data on agency nurses. The average number of agency nurses used per day in 2001, 2002 and 2003 was 434, 401 and 312, respectively. These figures demonstrate a continuous and substantial downward trend in the use of agency nurses.
An extensive range of measures have been introduced to improve the number of nursing staff, including a substantial increase in training places, the recruitment of overseas nurses, a more effective utilisation of the professional skills of nurses and midwives and the close monitoring and assessment of the situation. I am confident that they continue to prove effective in addressing the nursing workforce needs of the health services.
