Peter Hughes, the general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, has asserted that the current recruitment halt by the HSE is severely affecting services. The current predicament involves over 700 vacancies which is untenable in the long run, as the demand for services is growing and dependency on overtime and agency staff is not sufficient.
A recent poll amongst our branches revealed these 700+ openings, and Mr Hughes finds it untenable that a hiring freeze is enforced amid a surge in vacancies, which is adversely impacting service delivery. Despite employing graduate nurses, the HSE is not meeting the need for important clinical roles like specialist clinical nurse managers, resulting in a negative impact on the safety and governance of services. Moreover, the recruitment freeze has resulted in reduced and closed services.
“The current staffing gap prevents us from opening the new 20-bed Camhs unit in the children’s hospital and filling the 58 vacancies in the new forensic services,” said Mr Hughes. The lack of resources is causing great frustration amongst members, who are straining to continue providing crucial services. The practice of depending on goodwill to ensure service delivery has reached a critical level, according to him.
“This is unacceptable if we are to successfully accommodate the escalating demand for mental health services. It is a situation we will not endure much longer,” he foreshadowed. He went on to suggest that the possibility of industrial action could not be ruled out.
Mr Hughes admitted that the lack of personnel was significantly impacting the ability to deliver child and adolescent mental health service. The country needs 100 beds for children and adolescents, but currently, there are only 42 operational beds.
Two years ago, 11 beds were closed at the Linn Dara unit in Cherry Orchard, despite assurances they would reopen within four months. This has not occurred, and there is no expectation that this will change. “The Linn Dara service has a 45 percent vacancy rate. Many of our services throughout the country have a vacancy rate of 20 to 30 percent,” he said.