A chara, – As spending on the behemoth that is the HSE seems to spiral ever more out of control and the number of nurses and doctors actually providing care to patients continues to fall, the one growth area that appears to continue unabated is the appointment of “managers”.
The plethora of common or garden local, regional and national managers is easier to spot, but increasingly posts assigned ever more creative titles such as “principals”, “transformation officers”, “co-ordinators”, etc, are appearing, the names of which may generally belie their true purpose. This is that their holders rarely if ever see patients, rather “managing” and “co-ordinating” (whatever those terms mean) the ever-decreasing number of clinicians that actually do. The tragedy is that at least some of these “managers” are currently or formerly clinicians themselves and their skills are lost to those people who should matter most – patients.
The solution? Yes, more money would be nice. New clinical staff members are a must in many areas. However, we must audit, clearly define, evidence-base and make a proper business case for every management post that exists in the HSE (ie, ask the question, how is this post improving the assessment and treatment of patients? If it isn’t it should be axed.) Second, immediately reassign any clinical staff member who has been “lost” to management back to seeing patients again. After all, this is his or her expertise.
Finally, establish a national “Management Council” along the lines of the Medical Council, An Bord Altranais, etc, with the requirement that those governed by the council engage in continuous professional development, without which (similar to clinical staff) they should not be allowed to practice. – Is mise,
Dr KIERAN MOORE,
Tigh na Reanna,
Ros Mhic Triúin,
Co Cill Chainnigh.