Huge recruitment problems for HSE

Anton McNulty

HEALTH officials in the west of Ireland have said they are frustrated at not being able to recruit home support staff despite extensive recruitment campaigns.
A meeting of the HSE Regional Health Forum West heard that despite a number of recruitment campaigns and advertisements for posts, it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill home-support positions.
Members of the forum were informed that even in cases of high application rates, successful applicants are turning down the jobs in favour of other positions in the healthcare sector.
“Already this year we have gone to the job expo in Leisureland [Galway] and we had somebody [at a careers fair] in Birmingham… we are doing everything to try to get as many people back into the region. There is definitely a shortage and a need for more people,” explained Breda Crehan-Roche, Chief Officer with Community Healthcare West.
She added: “We are working with graduates in the higher institutes and we are trying to entice them with jobs… There are really good jobs there, and there is a career pathway there. We will work with everybody who is anyway interested in providing services,” she said.

Misinformation
The shortage of home help and other home support staff was first raised at the meeting by Cllr Michael Kilcoyne, who complained that people being discharged from hospital were being informed that home help is being arranged when none is available.
“If patients are being told they will be supplied with home help they should be supplied with home help, otherwise tell them you will try to get home help but you cannot guarantee it. Patients were discharged and told ‘Your home help will be in with you tomorrow’ and nobody shows up, no home help. They should be told the truth, that is all I am asking,” he said.
Ann Cosgrove, the Chief Operations Officer with the Saolta University Health Care Group replied that she does not believe hospital staff tell patients that home help is being arranged but may inform them they will ask for it.
Her reply annoyed Cllr Kilcoyne, who said he would produce the people who told him they were informed by the hospital that they would get home help.
“I will just have to get people to go on the public record if I am to convince you,” he said.

Challenging
Connemara-based councillor Daithí Ó CualΡin said that people in his region were having the same difficulty getting home help.
“It is one of the key areas that’s raised time and time again where people are being awarded home help and released from hospital and lo and behold there is no services available. We have huge issues with this in the Connemara area, where people are being told they will be given home support but then told they don’t have the staff to do it,” he said.
Shannon Glynn, Head of Support for Older Persons, admitted that recruiting home support workers in Mayo, Roscommon and Galway is proving very difficult despite all efforts.
“The minister has put together a task force to look at specific issues in relation to the recruitment of home support workers and workers in residential services … We have made a submission based on our own experience here, but we will continue to advertise and campaign in the local papers, and we appreciate the support in getting the message out,” she said.