Cllr Shane P O'Reilly has raised his concerns over the amount of senior positions which have not been filled by the HSE across local hospitals and healthcare services. Speaking to Northern Sound, the Cavan councillor outlined a number of issues facing health workers across the region, particularly palliative care staff. According to the Mullagh native, local palliative care teams are "over stretched" with not enough nurses to cover the hours that are needed.
Although the HSE lifted the recruitment embargo back in July, Cllr O'Reilly says that "positions have not been filled" at that's where the issue lies. He believes that morale amongst the caring profession is at an all-time low because staff are "not receiving the support they need" from the HSE.
"The embargo was lifted but the positions weren't filled," explained Cllr O'Reilly. "It's left a very bad taste in the mouth of those who are in the system and are extremely fatigued. Morale is on the ground and the whole caring profession are wondering if they're actually respected for the jobs that they are doing which should not be the case. Referrals are taking longer for patients to receive palliative care and nurses are exhausted."
