Agency staff at Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise are swelling the wage bill there by €4.5 million.
An inability to attract permanent staff means that Portlaoise hospital has to rely on the services of 15 different recruitment agencies to fill vacant positions.
Dr Susan O’Reilly, CEO of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, told the Regional Health Forum, Dublin – Mid-Leinster that the difficulty of recruiting staff gets worse, the further hospitals are removed from Dublin.
“For Portlaoise, we have profound difficulties filling posts,” she said. The difficulties are particularly pronounced in the case of junior doctors. If these junior doctor posts could be filled on a permanent basis, then significant cost savings could be achieved, the forum heard.
“In Portlaoise, we would save €4.5 million if we didn’t use agencies but it is a constant struggle to fill those posts,” she said.
She added that they want to move from temporary contracts to the recruitment of permanent staff. “The question is, how do you get permanent staff on board?” she said.
However, she added that they have enjoyed some success on recruitment with a second ED position filled. She said this brings their complement up to 2.7 persons, with some support from home and agency work.
The meeting said other hospitals have struggled to fill staff, with Naas hospital using the services of 18 agencies.
Success
Tallaght Hospital has been successful in a recruitment drive, though, which has resulted in them being able to provide additional resources in Naas, and Portlaoise – where additional midwives have been provided.
Dr O’Reilly also highlighted other successes in Portlaoise, including the new €5 million building which will increase day-care service on the grounds of the hospital campus.
The future of the hospital in Portlaoise has been the subject of much speculation, following a number of scandals there in recent years. Minister for Health Simon Harris met with staff recently and told local politicians that there was no ‘fait accompli’ on the future of the hospital.
