A priest has slammed the HSE for taking on more than 20 managers while his local hospital is forced to keep a ward closed because of a lack of nurses.
Stranorlar-based priest Fr John Joe Duffy said the health authority is failing in its care of duty to people.
The HSE recently admitted it could not open a ten bed ward at struggling Letterkenny University Hospital because of “nursing constraints.”
Saolta, which represents the hospital, has been forced to apologise to the public on four occasions in recent weeks because of congestion at the hospital’s A and E Department.
Fr Duffy said the recruitment of 21 General Managers by the HSE is baffling at a time when the HSE fail to recruit, replace or sanction front line staff such as nurses and care assiatants for direct care in our community hospitals and within hospitals generally.
He told Donegal Daily “This recruitment announcement for 21 General Managers on salaries of around €78,000 pa gives testimony to a bureaucratic system out of control.
“The HSE clearly shows it is simply not putting people first, not putting patients first, not putting the well being and care of patients to the forefront. It shows that the HSE is much more interested in caring for a bloated bureaucratic system putting promotional and managerial jobs ahead of patient care.
The HSE are failing in their care of duty to prioritise the needs and the well being of their own front line staff in their failure to prioritise recruitment to help alleviate the work demands on those who are stretched to the point of breaking. Frontline staff stretched to and beyond the limit due to retirements, sick leave, etc.
“The failure of the HSE to approve or sanction frontline staff is having a huge toll on the well being of those who are to the forefront, those nurses and care assistants who are trying under difficult conditions to keep a quality level of care for patients.
“In our community hospitals there are physical space and beds empty which cannot be put to patient use due to the lack of staff to care for the patient. More step-down patients from Letterkenny and other acute hospitals could be accepted into our community hospitals if there were adequate and safe staff levels to nurse and care for patients.”
