Covid-19 overpayments of €700k to frontline healthcare workers under investigation
Seán McCárthaigh
A total of €712,000 of potential duplicate payments of special recognition payments to frontline healthcare workers for their unique efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic are still under investigation, it has emerged.
An internal audit report has revealed notable control weaknesses and governance gaps in how the HSE oversaw the payment of €211 million in Pandemic Special Recognition Payments (PSRPs) to 223,000 healthcare workers.
It included the potential that €712,000 was paid out to healthcare staff who had already received the special payment.
The HSE revealed that five “Section 38” agencies – private healthcare providers funded by the HSE – are refusing to engage on the issue based on GDPR concerns despite the transfer of worker data in this instance not being deemed a problem by the Data Protection Commissioner.
HSE auditors noted that, in contrast, checks carried out by a private contractor appointed to oversee payment of the PSRP to non-public healthcare workers such as nursing home staff had successfully prevented €4 million in duplicate payments.
The full value of the PSRP, which was announced by the Government in January 2022, was a €1,000 tax-free payment to eligible frontline staff who worked in a Covid-19 exposed healthcare environment between March 2020 and June 2021.
A smaller payment of €600 was made to eligible workers with shorter contracted hours.
The report also revealed that HSE overpayments, largely due to duplicate payroll submissions, had been recouped from 129 staff – approximately 0.1% of its total workforce – who had been given the PSRP in error.
A further 231 HSE employees were identified as being overpaid the PSRP, including 21 who received double the maximum award.
The HSE said all the money had been recouped apart from 63 cases which remain under investigation.
Overall, HSE auditors concluded that the level of assurance that could be provided over the adequacy and effectiveness of the governance, risk management and internal control system for overseeing the special pandemic payments was “moderate.”
The audit report said there was no national oversight of how eligibility criteria for the special payment was applied at a local level.
It noted that 539 senior managers in the HSE had received the payment which indicated a potential misinterpretation of eligibility rules at local levels.
Further evidence that there was a lack of understanding about the scheme’s rules was found with 69 per cent of 3,558 appeals against non-receipt of the special payment being deemed valid.
The report also found out that no formal review to identify “lessons learned” had been carried out which it claimed represented “a missed opportunity to strengthen governance, eligibility verification and reporting frameworks for future emergency or recognition payment programs.”
The auditors said the payment of the PSRP to ineligible healthcare workers could lead to decreased morale among employees who had provided frontline services during the pandemic as well as an erosion of public trust.
They also pointed out that duplicate payments resulted in additional administration and costs associated with the recovery of funds.
The HSE said there was an ongoing process in relation to the potential for duplicate payments which was “receiving significant attention” from its finance division.
