Health

‘Gaslighting’ of health workers by Robert Watt unacceptable, says union chief

Fórsa’s Kevin Callinan highly critical of comments by Department of Health secretary general

Fórsa trade union Kevin Callinan General Secretary addresses the union's annual conference at the NEC in Killarney, Co Kerry. Photograph: : Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus

Emmet Malone
Thu May 16 2024 - 14:57

Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt has been accused of “gaslighting” HSE employees by Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan at the union’s conference in Killarney.

Addressing the 700 delegates on Thursday morning, Mr Callinan criticised Mr Watt’s comments to the Oireachtas Joint Health Committee last week when he provided an update on the spending and services overseen by the department.

During the hearing, Mr Watt suggested the increase in investment by Government in service provision for patients was not being adequately reflected in the numbers being treated in hospitals and other settings.

Describing the figure of more than 500,000 people he estimated to currently be on waiting lists as “unacceptably high,” Mr Watts said “we simply must do better with the resources at our disposal to meet that challenge”.

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The comment was taken to be a criticism of healthcare workers’ productivity levels.

“We certainly won’t tolerate attempts, such as the one we saw from the captain of the austerity ship, Robert Watt, last week to gaslight health workers for the fact there are more than half a million people on waiting lists,” Mr Callinan told the conference.

Asked about his comment afterwards, Fórsa’s leading official said: “I don’t think it’s helpful when there’s an attempt by somebody in his position to put the blame for the fact that there’s over half a million on health waiting lists on the staff, as he did in a report to the Oireachtas committee last week by saying that the staff should do better, that they are the problem.

“That isn’t the problem. The problem is that we cut, to the bone, our health service during the crash, while we have a rapidly growing population and public services aren’t keeping up with that.

“We’re simply not going to accept any attempt to deflect from that and blame to staff for the failings of the system. I think they need to sit down with us in a real way to address some of these issues rather than to turn up to our Oireachtas committees or send in reports to Oireachtas committees where there’s an attempt to suggest the fault is with the system or the staff.”

In a statement, the Department of Health said that “at no time has the secretary general sought to blame healthcare workers for the challenges faced by the health service.

“In fact, at the Joint Health Committee last week the secretary general highlighted the contributions being made by the Enhanced Community Care Programme and the Waiting List Action Plan in particular in positively impacting waiting lists in the country’s health service, which have fallen for the last two years.

“Mr Watt also outlined the increased levels of activity being delivered by staff across the health service, and particularly in hospital Emergency Departments, in spite of the significant increases in demand with which they are faced.”

During his address, meanwhile, Mr Callinan criticised system of engagement by Government with unions as tokenistic, characterising is as “the occasional audience with Government to voice our concerns”.

He said that despite the growing challenge to society presented by the far right, the unions’ were being excluded from having a meaningful say in policy and decision making.

Mr Callinan also said the tax relief on union dues, abolished in 2010, should be restored, arguing it had represented a small but significant support for up half a million workers across the economy.

He said the total cost of the relief in its final year had been about €26 million. “We’ve seen a multiple of that promised to businesses and even when they didn’t have their acts together to apply for it, they gave it to them anyway,” he said.

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone is Work Correspondent at The Irish Times

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