The failure to publish a clear plan on the future of the Portlaoise hospital is compromising it and making it difficult to recruit staff, according to a senior HSE manager.
Concern and frustration is being caused for staff and the public by the failure to publish the plan, as well as making it extremely difficult to recruit doctors and nurses, according to Dr Susan O’Reilly, chief executive of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, which includes Portlaoise hospital.
The “inherent risk” of relying on locum and other temporary staff is “unsustainable”, Dr O’Reilly warns in a letter to the Department of Health, obtained by the Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Acts.
Last year the hospital spent more than €10 million on locum staff, mostly doctors, due to an inability to fill permanent posts.
A draft plan drawn up by the hospital group has been with the department for over a year, with a final draft submitted last December.
This unpublished plan is believed to propose major changes to the hospital, including the politically unpopular option of ending 24/7 emergency and critical care services.
At a recent Mid-Leinster Health Forum the challenge of recruiting staff at Portlaoise was outlined by Dr O’Reilly.
“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.
Success
However, since then there has been some success on recruitment at the hospital, with six crucial roles that had been vacant for a long time, now taken.
Portlaoise Hospital filled the jobs by linking the roles with Dublin hospitals in some cases.
Two new Consultant Obstetricians, linked with Coombe Hospital, are now available to Portlaoise while two Neonatologists, linked with Dublin, have also been hired.
Two temporary Emergency Department Consultants have also come on board.
Welcoming the appointments at the time, Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “Portlaoise Hospital continues to be one of my main priorities and I am pursuing with HSE and the Minister for Health to secure investment and further services in the Hospital.”
SEE ALSO – Boost for Portlaoise hospital as key positions filled
