Mass staff exodus will impact services

The various impacts on frontline services of the mass exodus of public servants and staff retirements at the end of this month is still being assessed, but it is increasingly clear that it will be considerable, particularly in the area of health. About 8,000 public sector staff, many of them in the health service, have applied to leave their jobs at the end of February to avail of better pension packages. Minister for Health Dr James Reilly has insisted plans are well advanced to address the impact of such large numbers of people leaving at the one time at the end of this month, but he has said some elective hospital procedures may have to be delayed while hospital managers deal with staff shortages. He has also attempted to reassure patients that their safety will not be compromised. Over 7,770 applications were received for early retirement from the public sector under the incentivised early retirement scheme before the end of January. Critics say the departure of so many senior public servants at the one time will cause turmoil in education, health and An Garda Síochána, and will also save much less in salary costs than the government has forecast. In this region, a total of 700 staff have applied to leave, the majority of them nurses. With no evident contingency plan in place after the end of February, the impact of these staff losses in healthcare will undoubtedly be felt, especially in the areas of community and public health nursing. It's not simply the numbers but the calibre of the people who are leaving - their experience, skills and the wisdom will not easily be replaced. Overall numbers departing under the early retirement arrangements nationwide include 3,500 in the health sector, 2,000 in education and 1,000 civil servants. The Minister for Public Enterprise and Reform, Brendan Howlin, has said that any staff shortages arising in any specific areas would be dealt with by way of redeployment or recruitment. However, it is the loss of institutional knowledge and skillsets that could adversely impact on the running of various departments in the areas of health and education, however, as experienced teachers, nurses, healthcare workers and local authority staff get set to leave their posts to meet a deadline which allows them to retain pensions on 2009 salary figures. While several thousand people annually leave the public service in any given year, having so many departing at the same time is bound to cause problems in managing to plug the gaps that are left, at least in the short term, despite the government saying it has transition teams in place to help manage the process. This exodus is on an unprecedented scale and will result in a huge loss of local knowledge and experience in areas already hit by budget cuts. According to the unions representing staff in the health sector, the embargo on staff recruitment, coupled with the mass exodus at the end of February, could lead to further cuts in care for the elderly and vulnerable, despite the reassurances coming from Government Buildings. To say that skilled workers won't be missed and that services can continue seamlessly is simply spin. There are a number of elderly people in communities the length and breadth of this county who can attest to the fact that health cuts are already having an impact on the care they receive, and this situation can only be exacerbated by the loss of retiring healthcare workers. The question to be answered is not only can services continue without descending into chaos on 1st March but will a leaner and fitter public sector emerge from this exercise? Some have their doubts. Outspoken consultant obstetrician Dr Gerry Burke, based in Limerick's Regional Maternity Hospital, who claimed that some women and babies will "pay with their lives" as a result of midwives leaving the service, believes the HSE does not have a contingency plan. And he is not the only one. The Master of the Rotunda Hospital, Dr Sam Coulter Smith, says the service cannot be stretched any further. The reality is that government assurances appear to be quite some distance from the realities being seen at the coalface where staff are about to leave in their droves. The Taoiseach may well point to the troika's demand to cut the public sector pay bill as leaving it with little option but to offer public servants an enhanced deal to leave, but the manner in which it was offered was indiscriminate in that it targeted everyone, from the back office pen-pusher to the top medical consultants. With the exit of up to 8,000 from their ranks, there is no way to guarantee that frontline services in hospitals and in community nursing will not be hit.