This article is from page 3 of the 2011-12-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
FIRST it stood at 9.43 per cent among general staff and was held up as the worst in Ireland – now it’s worse again as the percentage stands at 12 per cent among key frontline nursing staff.
These are the absenteeism rates at Ennis General Hospital, which have come under sharp focus again in the last week following the publication of the Health Services Executive ‘Heathstat Report’ for September.
“The issue is receiving maximum attention,” a HSE statement released to the The Clare People this Monday says. “The assistance of the Human Resources department has now been sought to assist the hospital in any additional actions required,” it adds.
According to the Healthstat figures, absenteeism rates among its 133 nurses during September were running at 12 per cent, a figure that is 8.5 per cent ahead of the target national absenteeism rate of 3.5 per cent.
These alarming figures come only three months after Minister for Health, James Reilly, pledged to put measures in place to tackle the problem at the hospital when it was revealed that absenteeism levels were running at 9.43 per cent, almost double the average for HSE hospitals around the country that stood at 4.85 per cent.
“We are putting in place a new initiative around this,” vowed Minister Reilly. “I’m not at liberty to say what it is just yet. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be able to announce it,” he added.
In September, it was revealed in Ennis that every day an average of 22 staff were missing from the hospital’s daily workforce of 238, a rate of absenteeism that impacts on the day-to-day operation of the facility, resulting in the HSE having to employ temporary outside staff to cover for sick workers.
And a breakdown of these figures has revealed that the rate of absenteeism is worst among general support staff when it’s running at a staggering 18 per cent.
Now the Healthstat figures show that, of Ennis General Hospital’s 133 nurses, 16 were absent from work on each day in the month of September.
“The hospital accepts that the absenteeism rate is high but all elements of the HSE’s Managing Attendance Policy are being carried out,” the HSE statement says. “These include referrals to occupational health, return-to-work interviews, certification of absences etc. While the hospital’s percentages appear high currently, the amount of ‘uncertified’ sick leave is very low.
“Where uncertified sick leave is low, the hospital is viewed to have achieved an improved performance in managing attendance as the majority of sick leave is certified by medical practitioners. A recent review by management shows that a number of people are absent with long-term serious illness,” the statement adds.