HSE seen as a toxic employer, claims Dr Rhona
THE HSE is seen as a toxic employer by medical staff, Dr Rhona Mahony, master of the National Maternity Hospital claimed today.
Dr Mahony chose the prestigious Doolin Memorial Lecture in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin yesterday to deliver a stinging attack on the HSE before an audience composed mainly of doctors and medical staff. Former health minister James Reilly was also in attendance.
Dr Mahony said it has become impossible to recruit new doctors. ‘The HSE is perceived to be a toxic employer, that is a damming indictment of the body that is meant to facilitate the delivery of healthcare in Ireland,’ she said. ‘The current policies of the HSE surrounding the recruitment and retention of doctors in Ireland is failing.’
She pointed to the rising emigration levels among young doctors as a symptom of the crisis, and said recruiting surgeons without having the necessary staff to allow them to carry out operations adds to problems.
Dr Mahony criticised the lack of workforce planning evident from the HSE, pointing to the high level of foreign doctors working here to fill the gaps caused by lack of recruitment. Many of these doctors cannot access full training schemes, meaning they leave after short contracts.
The title of Dr Mahony’s speech ‘Moving away from the Crossroads’ makes oblique reference to an often-misquoted line from Eamon de Valera about comely maidens dancing at the crossroads. She said: ‘Let’s return to de Valera and his vision for Irish people. What is our current vision for healthcare in Ireland? It’s defined in Sláintecare, the latest healthcare strategy. There are many excellent elements including the core determination to provide patients with access to healthcare on the basis of medical need and not economic means.’
Director of HR at the HSE, Rosarii Mannion, took to social media yesterday denying it had a toxic culture. She wrote: ‘Important to respect all opinions, this perception is not supported by results of our staff survey.’