Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 May 2012
192 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the call from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation to create 300 additional nursing posts in view of the fact that agency nurses are more expensive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24777/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has decided that health service employment numbers must be reduced to approximately 102,000 by the end of this year, in line with its commitment to reduce public expenditure.
Within the employment target set by Government, the HSE's National Service Plan 2012 allows for some targeted investment and recruitment in priority areas to address development priorities, such as in mental health and primary care. The Service Plan also allows some limited and targeted recruitment in critical service areas to help limit the impact of retirements on frontline services. However, given that the overall employment target must be met, these posts can only be put in place where this is possible within employment ceiling and budget.
The HSE's National Service Plan 2012 commits to significantly reducing the expenditure on agency staff usage with a target reduction of up to 50%. The Plan also contains a commitment that overtime and agency staffing are not to be used to support service levels beyond those agreed in the Plan or to substitute for staff losses.
In order to mitigate the impact on frontline services of the reduction in employment numbers and retirements, the priority is to reform how health services are delivered in order to ensure a more productive and cost effective health system. Therefore, the HSE is using the provisions of the Public Service Agreement to bring about greater flexibilities in work practices and rosters, redeployment and other changes to achieve more efficient delivery of services. It is also seeking to deliver greater productivity through the National Clinical Programmes to reduce the average length of stay, improve day of admission surgery rates, increase the number of patients treated as day cases, etc.
