Health staffing embargo
Richard Boyd Barrett accused the Government of hiding an effective recruitment embargo in health and cited understaffing in several hospitals. The Minister defended the funding increases and said services must still operate within budgets.
The Government is deceiving the public about the reference to addressing the crises in our health service. It claimed there was no recruitment embargo. Last week, health workers from all health unions were protesting about the pay and numbers strategy, an effective embargo which means we have unsafe staffing levels in our hospitals. In my own area, we had a meeting with many workers and other people from St. Michael’s Hospital, Loughlinstown hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital, all citing chronic understaffing and the inability of those hospitals to recruit people for vital posts in community and hospital care because of the pay and numbers embargo being imposed by the Government. Is the Government going to scrap this effective recruitment embargo? Will it bring in the patient safety licensing Bill to ensure proper safe staffing levels in our health system, something this Government promised it would introduce in 2018 but has refused to do?
Comment on this
We have provided significant investment since 2020, with more than €56 million allocated specifically to the HSE for the implementation of the safe nurse staffing framework. This is on a phased basis nationally. Our health service has been funded again this year to expand its overall numbers but also to do so next year. However, it is important the HSE operates within its budget levels. We all have to within our Departments. Whether it is justice, housing or health, we all have to work within those budgets.
That said, there is unprecedented levels of investment going into our health service. As of August 2024, there were 27,900 more staff working in our health service than at the beginning of 2020. That is a 23% increase, including 9,300 nurses and midwives, in excess of 4,000 health and social care professionals, and more than 3,300 doctors. The Ministers for Health and public expenditure again agreed a record budget this year which will allow again for the recruitment of further staff. While we all want to do more, we must work within our budgets. We have seen an unprecedented increase in staffing across the health sector.