HSE staff took 100,000 sick days in one month

[selfemployedmar]

And are probably gettin paid the full whack to for their Monday morning flu

[Conor]

I think I unwittingly found a way to kill a thread off - ask a hardish maths question

I'm going to attempt a crude estimate of this - using a round number of €40k per employee (everything included, all-in) - as the average - and taking mccaffertycat's estimate that these lost hours equate to 4,500 people. Thats €180m.

Even taking 30k as the average its €135m

At €50k average its €225m

That's also assuming they're all on full pay. The ones out longer term could easily be down to half pay or pension rate, or whatever.

[Ulster-Lad]

just on the news plans by HSE to cuts jobs including 700 staff nurses. That should add to the stress on the existing nurses.

RTE has a link on that now.

RTÉ News: HSE proposes 1,000 job cuts

[MsAnneThrope]

Yeah I was just reading that on rte:

Health unions met with senior HSE officials to discuss the detailed proposals.

Going in to that meeting, Kevin Callinan of Impact said the measures would be strongly resisted as they would have 'a devastating impact on jobs and services'

Interesting times ahead...

[Silvio Dante]

As long as the job cuts are of a voluntary nature I don't have a huge problem with them...

[Fairplay]

Lots of younger nursing staff are on short term contracts - they can be dispensed with without any cost in redundancy - and so they will be. Certainly not voluntary.

One of the nurses who will be let go is a girl I know who went back to college to get a nursing degree (had to pay full fees) as she had a degree in something else and therefore had already availed of 'free' fees. She loves nursing - it was a career change that worked. She got a short term contract in a Dublin hospital where she is incredibly busy but the contract ends in July. She will be unemployed and still has debts from the nursing degree fees.

It just seems daft that someone like her will be let go while Drumms spin doctors etc stay on their inflated salaries. And while patients are on trolleys.

And if you are not going to employ nurses, there should be huge cutbacks in training places in the universities - but there won't be - too much like joined up thinking and in any case thetraining of nurses comes out of the Education budget not the HSEs.

[frenk]

RTE has a link on that now.

RTÉ News: HSE proposes 1,000 job cuts

i have just heard from someone who works as a nurse through an agency that the agency are updating all of their information on all staff on their lists and that they have told people that they expect that there will be MORE agency work available as a result of the cuts. AND that agency staff will be paid at the same grade they would be paid at in a permanent post. it all sounds a bit like robbing peter to pay paul..

[Fairplay]

Interesting if agency nurses will benefit from the cuts as you suggest...

An agency nurse would not be counted hence HSE can say staff nos down. Even though the agency would get their markup, agencies save HSE pension commitments, sick pay, maternity leave etc - and the nurse can be employed via the agency on a day by day basis if required.

[selfemployedmar]

Lots of younger nursing staff are on short term contracts - they can be dispensed with without any cost in redundancy - and so they will be. Certainly not voluntary.

One of the nurses who will be let go is a girl I know who went back to college to get a nursing degree (had to pay full fees) as she had a degree in something else and therefore had already availed of 'free' fees. She loves nursing - it was a career change that worked. She got a short term contract in a Dublin hospital where she is incredibly busy but the contract ends in July. She will be unemployed and still has debts from the nursing degree fees.

It just seems daft that someone like her will be let go while Drumms spin doctors etc stay on their inflated salaries. And while patients are on trolleys.

And if you are not going to employ nurses, there should be huge cutbacks in training places in the universities - but there won't be - too much like joined up thinking and in any case thetraining of nurses comes out of the Education budget not the HSEs.

My personal opinion is to have the lay offs in admin staff, I was at local hosp recently and there was three women on reception pratically filing their nails, I asked a question they said go and see a nurse,,the poor nurse was running around ragged, and these three witches were useless, unhelpful and lazy and talk about an unkept appearance.
I remember the matrons years ago would send anyone home if they didnt have their hair washed and that was the admin staff!!

If only a time and motion study could be performed on the admin staff then I am sure heads could roll within those depts.

[MsAnneThrope]

i have just heard from someone who works as a nurse through an agency that the agency are updating all of their information on all staff on their lists and that they have told people that they expect that there will be MORE agency work available as a result of the cuts. AND that agency staff will be paid at the same grade they would be paid at in a permanent post. it all sounds a bit like robbing peter to pay paul..

Please tell me this isn't true. Try find out some more if you can Frenk and post back later in week. Thanks.