Mayo frontline health services ‘under pressure’ due to recruitment freeze - Hyland

A Mayo local election candidate is calling for an end to the moratorium on the recruitment of patient-facing staff within the public health service.

Sinn Féin local election candidate Donna Hyland stated: “The recruitment moratorium has been ongoing since last November and it is having an impact on health services in Castlebar.

"As a nurse who has experience of working within the healthcare system, I think it makes zero sense to restrict recruitment of staff working on the frontline where bed numbers need to be increased.

“It is clear that the budget allocated to the HSE by the Government didn’t take into account the additional demand on local services.

"Castlebar has fewer GPs which means that more people attend the emergency department to be seen by a doctor as a first option in addition to those attending for health emergencies or injuries.

"The additional rise in the population of the county combined with Mayo’s ageing population highlights the need to expand health and social care services.

"Unfortunately, services cannot be expanded without the recruitment of frontline staff.”

Ms Hyland continued: “Some potential employees are stuck in the recruitment process on a panel instead of being offered a post.

"The long-term impact of the recruitment freeze is that staff are working with the added pressure of roster shortages and morale is low.”

“Sinn Féin’s plan for local health services is to end the recruitment embargo, to double the recruitment of frontline staff for 2024 and to deliver initiatives such as a 'Pharmacy First' model.

"The solution to the problems within the health service will not emerge from a recruitment freeze and I am calling on all political representatives in County Mayo to join me in calling for an end to the recruitment embargo.”