STAFF recruitment in the health service is to be further restricted under new measures aimed at tackling the Health Service Executive’s deficit of nearly €300 million.
A new directive issued by HSE management says recruitment will be confined to the mental health and primary care areas for which the Government provided specific additional funding this year.
It says in exceptional circumstances, HSE and HSE-funded agencies may also submit a business case to fill a particular post.However, outside these areas all recruitment is to pause with immediate effect. The directive warns that agencies breaching the new policy face having their budgets cut while managers who fill such posts will face disciplinary action.
The new instruction on recruitment covers all posts associated with clinical programmes and the national cancer control programme, children and family services, sponsorship programmes for student midwives, student public health nurses, trainee clinical psychologists, non-consultant hospital doctors, consultants and senior management.
The directive says “where recruitment has been paused, no substitution by use of agency (personnel) or overtime should occur”.
Where recruitment contracts have been or are being issued, the HSE’s national recruitment service shall complete the process.
“All others will pause with immediate effect after July 20th, 2012. No other posts should be actioned without full exceptional approval.”
Where posts are “in progress” the HSE-funded agency should advise candidates that the recruitment process has been halted.
“The extent to which HSE hospital/agencies have complied with the requirements outlined above will be audited at regular intervals. Findings will be reported to the Department of Health, Special Delivery Unit and other relevant parties. Should an agency be found to have breached these requirements, its whole-time equivalent and financial allocation will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.
“In addition, where posts are reported as being filled outside this process after July 20th, 2012, the manager responsible for filling the post will be subject to sanction, including application of the disciplinary procedure as appropriate.”
A total of 414 posts are to be filled as part of the development of mental health services, and 200 for primary care services.
