Cllr Deirdre Ferris.A LOCAL councillor is seeking clarity from the HSE regarding staffing caps at UHK.
At a recent Southwest Committee meeting, HSE management advised members of ‘Caps’ to agency hiring to manage the budget overspend. There was no mention of cuts to staff numbers that will impact the provision of service.
Sinn Fein Cllr Deirdre Ferris was made aware late yesterday evening of immediate cuts to agency staff in essential areas including catering services and further planned cuts to agency hired Healthcare Assistants in UHK.
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Cllr Ferris believes that members of the Regional Health Forum have been misled by HSE management.
She said; “we have already challenged the HSE to fully inform members of the issues with staffing in the new Killarney Nursing Unit, and had it not been for the media, we would have been completely left in the dark. We were then led to believe last week that no provision of service would be impacted by the cap on agency spending. This is a disgraceful way to treat the representatives in the area who are left blind to what is actually happening.”
Cllr Ferris is demanding clarity on the situation and a full disclosure of any plans that see cuts to staffing numbers in UHK immediately.
