NEARLY 50 hospital consultants and almost 1,000 nurses of different grades are set to leave the health service before new pension changes come into effect at the end of February, the first official figures show.
The new figures, released by the Department of Health, reveal 2,077 HSE staff have indicated they will retire either this month or in February before the end of the “grace period” under which their pensions and lump-sum gratuities will be based on their pre-pay-cut salaries.
An additional 1,500 health service personnel retired in the months between September and the end of December last year.
Overall the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said last night that about 7,500 staff in the public service had so far applied to retire before the end of February deadline.
Staff in the public service who wish to leave before the end of the “grace period” must submit their applications by the beginning of February. However, the staff concerned can change their mind virtually up until they are scheduled to leave.
In other parts of the public service about 1,130 staff in the education sector are understood to have applied to leave, as have about 1,000 civil servants, more than 700 local authority personnel and 500 in the Defence Forces.
The first breakdown of health service staff intending to leave was provided by the Department of Health in response to a parliamentary question tabled by Gerald Nash of the Labour Party.
The health budget is already under strain with overall spending to be reduced by €750 million in the year ahead, something the HSE has acknowledged will affect frontline services for patients.
The Department of Health figures show 48 hospital consultants are among the 2,077 health service personnel who have signalled their intention to leave either this month or in February. This includes seven consultant general surgeons, four of whom are based in the Dublin/North East region, as well as five consultants in adult psychiatry.
Four consultant radiologists, four ophthalmic surgeons and four general physicians have also indicated they will be retiring.
The Department of Health figures also show 976 nurses in various grades in different parts of the health service have also indicated their intention to retire before the end of February. This includes 212 general staff nurses and 155 senior general staff nurses.
A total of 64 public health nurses are also set to retire. Seven directors of public health nursing have indicated they are to leave, as have 17 assistants of public health nursing.
The figures also show more than 80 personnel in various posts of director of nursing, assistant director of nursing and deputy director of nursing are planning to leave.
Forty-six medical scientists are also set to retire before the end of February, as are four senior dental surgeons.
A total of 39 staff in various social-work grades have also signalled their intention to retire.
The trade union Siptu said it was very concerned about the contingency arrangements the HSE planned to put in place to maintain services when so many staff were leaving at the same time.
Siptu health division organiser Paul Bell said the union had asked the HSE to identify the sites and facilities from which large numbers of staff were leaving. He was concerned so many personnel were leaving in the west and in the south.
The Department of Health figures show that of the 2,077 staff expected to leave this month and next, 722 were based in the west and 534 in the south.
Mr Bell said Siptu understood that there would be nearly 1,700 nurses among the total of 3,500 health service staff who were expected to leave the HSE between last September and the end of February.
A HSE spokesman said it was working on contingency plans.
The HSE said: “The HSE service plan published earlier this week sets out the challenging position of the health services in 2012 both in terms of the employment control framework and the financial position. The plan does allow for some additional recruitment in targeted areas including mental health services and primary care.”
The plan provides for 400 staff in the mental health services to be recruited and some vacancies in primary care to be filled.