Extent of the under-staffing at Mullingar hospital laid bare
The scale of the under-staffing problems at MRH Mullingar has been laid bare by new figures revealing that here are currently 75 full-time positions vacant.
In the same week that parents were informed that the Paediatric Diabetic Clinic at the hospital (see page 5) was closing due to a shortage of staff, new figures obtained by Deputy Sorca Clarke show that there are 75.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) positions currently vacant at the hospital, including 36.5 nursing positions, three consultant positions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, two in Paediatrics, three senior pharmacists, 2.5 occupational therapists and 18 vacancies in administration.
Of the 75.5 WTE positions, one – a consultant’s role in Obstetrics and Gynaecology – has been vacant since October 2015, although the HSE says that it is being filled with agency staff; four have been vacant since 2017, eight since 2019 and 10 more than six months. The figure also includes six new positions created late last year and 15 state midwife vacancies from “2018 onwards”.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Deputy Clarke said that “figures speak for themselves”. The Sinn Féin TD said that there is “no justification for posts that are going back six, nine, 12 months or more still being empty”.
“For example there is a senior pharmacist post and that has been empty for almost a year. Posts aren’t there to be words on paper. Posts are there because there is a job available and the job needs to be done. If someone is in that position on a locum basis for the last year, why haven’t they been offered a contract?
“There are two consultant paediatric posts that have been empty since January 2017. The first word that comes to mind is bonkers. If there is no one coming through and it has been advertised, it should be offered to the locum that’s in position.
“We knew that there were vacancies in the hospital but to see it put down in black and white and to see the quantity of them.”
Deputy Clarke added that such high level of vacancies “undermines the working conditions for the staff that are there”.
“It undermines the capability of the hospital to meet the demands of the patients and to a certain extent it undermines the safety of the patients being treated there, and then obviously it would impact on positive outcomes.
“If you are looking at the hospital at the moment and looking at the levels of stress and anxiety that those people have been under for almost a year just because of the pandemic, having this amount of vacancies is just not on. It is completely bang out of order.”
Stating that successive governments have failed to address the shortcomings in the health system, which have seen thousands of newly qualified doctors and nurses emigrate to countries where there is better pay and conditions, Deputy Clarke says that the shortage of nurses in particular is going to be exacerbated by the government’s treatment of student nurses during the pandemic.
“In 2019 there were 445 graduate nurses and midwives provided with full-time, permanent contracts. In 2020, there were 174. Even before the pandemic, we knew that the waiting lists for many services were astronomical. We knew that an elective surgery could be cancelled at the drop of a hat, even though that elective surgery might actually result in life changing benefits.
“The minister really needs to look at why it is people don’t want to work in our hospitals. Why it is that these posts, to this level, are cropping up. You will always have staff turnover in any business, and that is quite normal, but at this level it is not normal, and should never be considered normal,” she said.
HSE statement
In a statement issued to the Westmeath Examiner, MRH Mullingar said: Regional Hospital Mullingar is making every effort on a daily basis to ensure that safe levels of staffing are provided as much as possible. This is done with the intention of meeting clinical needs of our patients and provides a safe working environment for all staff. Although there are a number of vacancies currently, all posts are either covered by internal staff, agency staff and the hospital is actively recruiting at this time. Many of the positions are in the process of being filled after a successful campaign has been carried out. Regional Hospital Mullingar and the Ireland East Hospital Group are working together to fill these vacancies as soon as possible.