This article is from page 5 of the 2008-06-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 5 JPG
IMPACT trade union staff at En- nis General Hospital will take part in a lunchtime protest tomorrow (Wednesday) to highlight health service cuts.
Delays in getting oxygen to Clare patients in their homes and under- staffed social work teams are just two of the knock on effects of HSE staff shortages, according to the un- ion.
More than 2,500 health workers in the county will take part in the lunch- time protest, which is not expected to
affect patient care as staff will man the picket line on their lunch breaks.
Andy Pike, assistant general secre- tary for the mid-west region, said the staffing embargo had been nothing short of catastrophic for local serv- leon
Mr Pike claimed that from Decem- ber 2007 to March 2008 the HSE in the mid-west lost 137 whole time equivalents (full time staff) and, given the number of part time posts in the HSE, the true figure could be close to 200.
He said that the employment con- trols introduced in 2008 allowed a
vacancy to be filled only if a differ- ent post was suppressed, so the cost of filling one vacancy was the loss of another in a different part of the Service.
“Two environmental health of- ficer posts have not been replaced in County Clare.
‘This means that patients and the public are at increased risk due to the frantic fall in the number of inspec- tion carried out in hospitals and the community,’ he said.
‘Two physiotherapy posts in Clare are vacant resulting in the closure of community physio services in east
and south Clare which currently serve 42,000 people.
“Two posts are vacant in disability services in Clare resulting in delays in delivering oxygen to patients’ homes,” said the trade union repre- sentative.
“The adoption service in the mid- west is struggling to cope without key posts being filled.
“Service provision has all but stopped. Social work teams are now seriously understaffed across the mid-west, including two permanent posts in ClareCare that have been suppressed,’ he added.
‘Family support worker posts have been left vacant increasing demands on residential services for vulnerable children and clients. Two occupa- tional therapy posts have not been filled thus increasing waiting lists.”
He said budget constraints also make it difficult for staff to carry out their duties as all travel outside Clare being banned except with prior per- mission. Numerous posts in Limer- ick and north Tipperary also remain vacant.
IMPACT workers will be protect- ing across the country on Wednesday from 12.30pm to 2pm.