The HSE North East has been accused of putting patients' lives at risk because of its failure to replace 133 medical staff, including radiographers, physiotherapists, pharmacists and more than 100 nursing staff in its five acute hospitals.
The HSE confirmed that in July, the National Hospitals Office approved over 100 replacement posts for the five hospitals and said "the recruitment process for filling the posts has been initiated". However, just 23 posts have been advertised recently: none are for the five vacant physiotherapist positions and just 13 of the 112 nursing positions have been advertised, though the HSE says more will be advertised in the coming weeks.
A ban on recruitment was introduced earlier this year after it became clear HSE North East was on target for budget overruns of millions of euro.
Concerns about the impact on patient care were outlined in a letter from Siptu branch organiser Ramon O'Reilly to the HSE employee relations manager on July 20th last.
"The situation is now so bad that there is a real danger to patients throughout the northeastern HSE. Services to patients may also suffer, as staff may have no option other than to curtail services," he said.
"Due to staff shortages throughout the region, a range of facilities and equipment due to come on stream will now be left idle. This situation is now at crisis point and we wish to meet with you urgently to discuss it."
One of the vacancies is that of radiographer services manager (RSM) in the Louth hospital in Dundalk. The union says a proposal from the region's hospital network manager that a single RSM should manage services in Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, 35km (22 miles) away is "unacceptable".
Reacting to the vacant RSM position, Louth county councillor Gerald Nash (Lab) said, "in effect there is no one in charge of the department and nobody to whom staff report. This fundamental flaw in the management system represents a serious breach of rules drawn up by the local Radiation Protection Committee which is subscribed to by all stakeholders, including the HSE.
"There are huge risks associated with operating a radiology department without key staff. . ." he added.
An informed source said as a result of two vacancies for senior pharmacists not being filled in the Lourdes hospital, Drogheda, between €150,000 and €200,000 a year will be spent on outside pharmacists to manufacture oncology drugs.
At the same hospital, there is a vacancy for a senior mammography radiographer at the regional breast care service. The failure to fill it "could lead to increased waiting times and may result in appointments falling outside the National Breast Service guidelines", said a source.
In a statement, the HSE North East said: "All requests for replacement posts are reviewed on a monthly basis by the hospital network manager prior to submission to the director of the National Hospitals Office for approval. The employee relations manager has agreed to meet with a Siptu representative to listen to their concerns."