Confront HSE union scourge
Sir — We have all heard the stories about our failing health service, the lack of funds, the lack of beds, nurses and doctors, and too many managers.
My partner started a job in the HSE a number of months ago and I have been in and out of our local main A&E and medical assessment unit over the past few months also, with conversations in both instances and areas coming to the same conclusion — it’s not the above issues that are mainly to blame, but the restrictive demands and impact of the unions.
I heard instances where a new manager trying to introduce new, improved practices was ganged up on by his team, who insisted he be removed, and concocted identical stories of bullying and aggression. They were also refusing to complete work assigned to them by their line managers, saying they were too busy.
They even insisted that they made out their own rosters, not him, and management declined to challenge them on their refusal. Previous reports to senior management and HR had apparently been passed back down with a “resolve it yourself ” instruction and: “Don’t rock the boat.”
If this were in private industry, either they would be fired and a “cleansing strike” would ensue and the issue would be resolved, or the owners would just close down and move elsewhere.
What appears to be in place, is that in many instances, the administrative heads of our hospitals were once head union bods and now they are supposed to negotiate with their old pals on behalf of the management to secure better levels of care for the patients, with obvious outcomes.
I had a specialist consultant tell me privately that there was a growing list of unfilled consultant positions, nurses positions and a quickening flood of departing junior doctors as the salaries, and more importantly, the progression opportunities, were better in the NHS, Canada and Alaska. While the Government had placed salary restrictions in the years of austerity, they had failed miserably to rectify these deficits as the economy returned to full employment. Again, the unions were loudest in preventing a rise in higher medical staff salaries.
Our populist (in his own mind) minister is presiding over this continuing mayhem, giving speedy orations, attending photoshoots and playing to the mob, but miserably failing to get to the crux of the matter and totally letting down the Irish public, like all his predecessors before him.
It is well time that the union scourge in our healthcare system and hospitals was exposed and confronted.
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