Members of the Forsa Trade union are to take part in lunchtime protest at Tipperary University Hospital tomorrow. The union is currently conducting a ballot for possible industrial action in response to a HSE decision to effectively cancel thousands of frontline health service vacancies that were left unfilled due to the HSE Recruitment ban. The protest will be for one hour between 12.30pm and 1.30pm at the hospital’s main entrance on Western Road.
The union says the unfilled health posts means that services – including community health services, acute health services, mental health services and services to older people – are affected because these areas are short staffed. It also means waiting lists for these services are getting longer.
Thursday’s protest in Clonmel follows similar protests in recent weeks at hospitals in several other counties.
Colette O’Connell, chair of Fórsa’s Tipperary South Health and Community branch, says that continuing employment restrictions are putting patient services under enormous strain. Ms O’Connell is accusing the HSE of “chaotic downsizing and arbitrary decisions to leave critical frontline positions unfilled, which severely compromises the ability of Fórsa members’ to safely deliver health services.” A recent survey of Fórsa members, shows that 88% of respondents reported vacancies within their departments, with the number of vacancies varying between one and twenty, with some departments operating with more than 20 vacancies.
