HSE hiring freeze extended in bid to contain costs
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A HSE hiring freeze has been extended to include home helps, doctors in training, and additional agency staff above a certain level among other health professions in a bid to contain costs.
This follows an announcement earlier this month that new recruitment for managerial and administrative roles is paused, also until year end.
In a memo sent to HR and division heads around the country on Friday, HSE CSO Bernard Gloster said staff numbers have been rising since 2019.
“Successful recruitment campaigns in a number of disciplines have also meant that in many cases funded 2023 targets are reached and indeed exceeded at the end of September,” he said.
He listed a range of professions where hiring beyond targets is no longer possible.
There is now “an immediate cessation on additional agency staffing above today’s levels”, the memo, seen by the , reads.
High spending particularly on agency nurses has been a contentious issue in the past for the HSE.
The freeze now also includes non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) with the employment limit for these doctors now set at whatever the number was on September 1. This applies to hospitals and community services, taking immediate effect unless there are contractual obligations already in place.
Also affected is recruitment for home helps, healthcare assistants and attendants with the possibility here of hiring only if the target numbers have not yet been reached.
Hiring for general support roles is also paused.
The freeze around managerial roles remains in place, with Mr Gloster having previously said they were already over the number projected under the national service plan for this year.
The memo advises HR departments and others that “priority posts within these grades in the short term to be filled through internal redeployment.”
Mr Gloster added: “At year end the census will be reviewed together with agency staffing, overtime and new controls, limits and processes will issue.”
The memo also specifies a range of clinical roles which are not subject to the freeze including nurses, midwives, consultants in hospitals and community services, dentists, therapists and ambulance emergency staff.
“All plans for 2024 should be mindful of these controls,” Mr Gloster said.
“This instruction is with immediate effect except for those whereby there is a contractual obligation entered into with a candidate. This is applicable to all HSE Statutory Services, Voluntary Hospitals and Voluntary Agencies.”
The move follows focus on the HSE’s budget in recent weeks, with a projected overspend of at least €1.1bn linked to constraints on spending in other departments.