Written answers
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Department of Health
Health Services Staff
Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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805. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been further drawn to staff shortages in the public health nursing service in Dublin West; if his attention has been drawn to persons receiving correspondence from the HSE advising that the PHN service cannot deliver child health services for developmental assessments at 3 months, 9-11 months, 21-24 months and 46-48 months; and the action that his Department is taking to ensure that staff shortages are addressed in order that these services can be provided. [36014/22]
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Public Health nurses fulfil a valuable role within the Community Health system.
There are staff shortages in the Public Health Nursing (PHN) Service across CHO7 Dublin South, Kildare & West Wicklow. This is having an impact on delivering routine, non-priority developmental screening assessments. This means that the service can no longer carry out Developmental Assessments for 3 month, 9-11months, 21-24 months and 46-48 months in vacant PHN caseloads.
The Dublin West team have implemented a system which enables them to prioritise the screening services and address those needs while the staffing issue is being addressed. There are a number of reasons for the staff shortages:
The Public Health Nursing Sponsorship Programme is currently the only route for recruitment into Public Health Nursing. The PHN Department supports the sponsorship of approx. 6- 8 standard PHNs annually however as per the National PHN Transfer Agreement (2015) PHNs who train apply for a transfer post their 18 months sponsorship.
Since 2015 40 PHNs have transferred. Despite 3 recent cRGN recruitment campaigns the service has been unsuccessful in attracting candidates to the area. Staff retirement and staff moving to take up promotional opportunities have also reduced the number of PHNs in the area.
From 2021 to 2022, 5 PHNs transferred and 5 PHNs commenced working as ADPHNs. This year the PHN Department has applied for standard PHNs and every effort is being made to recruit nurses. There are 4 PHNs due to qualify in 2022 and these will be assigned to fill vacant PHN areas.
The HSE have confirmed that they will continue to use transfer panels and recruit for Public Health Nurses across the area. The situation is expected to improve in coming months when student PHNs are allocated to the area.
In Budget 2022, the Minister secured annual investment of €195m to enable the continued delivery of the Enhanced Community Care Programme. This investment is supporting a programmatic and integrated approach to the development of the primary and community care sector. The ECC programme represents a significant expansion in primary care capacity, and will see some 3,500 additional staff recruited overall, with a particular focus on nursing and health and social care professionals.
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