A HSE recruitment and education fair being held in Inishowen will aim to attract healthcare workers to relocate to Donegal.
The HSE Health and Social Care Recruitment and Education Fair is taking place on Tuesday in Buncrana.
A wide net is being cast, looking for potential candidates to work in the health service in Inishowen – be it school leavers, third level students, those looking for a career change or people who wish to relocate to Donegal.
“Tuesday’s event is for people who want to find out more about the opportunities and vacancies available through HSE Ireland in Inishowen. I would encourage people working in the health care services, or those who know people in the health care services who are interested in moving back to Donegal to attend the fair,” Minister Charlie McConalogue said regarding the event.
“This is an extremely positive initiative by the HSE in conjunction with Inishowen Development Partnership to specifically target and seek out new recruits for our premier health care services in Donegal. In recent times it has proved challenging to recruit people into many health care roles across the country. We have specific challenges in our own county which have led to challenges in relation to services required in the community, as well as the child and development network teams for children with particular developmental needs.
“I’ve been engaging with the HSE which has been proactive in relation to finding new means with which its seeking to attract health care professionals to come and work in the county. Good community health care services are crucial when it comes to providing a comprehensive health care service for the people of our county. It’s important for young children who have developmental needs to get the intervention they need,” the Minister added.
“It’s been a challenge to fill the posts necessary to ensure the child development network teams are able to provide the services that children need. Indeed, the slow uptake in roles advertised has led to some services not being made available in the last number of months.
“I welcome this proactive approach being taken by the HSE and Inishowen Development Partnership who are seeking to address this issue. I’m encouraging all members of the public to get the message out to anyone they know who might be interested in any of the vacant roles to attend the fair or to contact the HSE,” he commented.
“At government level I’m working with the Minister for Health to ensure that we’re investing heavily in community care services infrastructure in the county. We’ve seen a number of new health care centres delivered in various locations in Donegal, including Newtowncunningham, Dunfanaghy, Donegal Town and Ballyshannon.
“We’re also working to invest in the services available and this is reflected by the commencement earlier this week of the construction of the 110-bed unit in Letterkenny. Through recruitment initiatives such as the one being rolled out on Tuesday in Buncrana, I hope we can have a full team of staff in place in all sectors so that the services that can be provided are fully utilised,” Minister McConalogue added.
