ANALYSIS:New employment framework aims to cut HSE numbers and facilitate restructuring, writes MARTIN WALL
THE NEW employment control document for the health service provides more detail on the Government’s stated objective to reduce the numbers on its payroll over the coming years.
The recent Croke Park deal on public service reform stated that the Government wanted to reduce numbers substantially. However, no figures were mentioned.
The health service is the largest employer in the public service and the number of staff has been declining steadily for a number of years and this process is to continue until at least the end of 2012.
Under the Government’s plans the number of health service staff will have fallen by 6,000 between the end of March 2009, when the moratorium on staffing levels was introduced, and the end of 2012.
In essence, over the next 2½ years the HSE will be required to reduce its employment levels by 380 per quarter.
Apart from reducing numbers overall, the new framework is aimed at facilitating the restructuring of the organisation – with more staff operating frontline services and fewer in administrative or managerial roles.
The new framework will also seek to facilitate the long-planned re-orientation of the organisation towards the primary, community and continuing care settings and away from the hospital sector.
The new framework document also reflects Government priorities in the health sector and is aimed at allowing the implementation of official strategies in a number of areas.
For example an additional 265 posts are to be permitted to be filled to facilitate the implementation of the Ryan report on child abuse.
There is also to be an additional 79 posts to improve cancer services while the first 100 psychiatric nursing posts that arise can be filled to allow for the implementation of the Vision for Change policy document.
The Department of Health has also urged the HSE to try to align its targets for staffing reductions to take account of its corporate strategies.
The Department of Health secretary general Michael Scanlan last week suggested in a letter to HSE chief Prof Brendan Drumm that a lower target for staffing reductions could be assigned to the Dublin/North East region “so that it can fill some of the vacancies that arise during the year to support the northeast reconfiguration project”.
Similarly, while the appointment of medical consultants has been exempt from the operation of the recruitment moratorium since it was introduced – subject to two non-consult posts being suppressed to allow the creation of a consultant position – the process could be eased in future to facilitate, among other areas, the regional service reconfiguration plans.
In essence the new framework document seeks to provide greater flexibility and autonomy to the HSE in managing recruitment.