Urgent workforce plan needed for University Hospital Waterford

An urgent workforce plan is needed to address short staffing in dermatology services at University Hospital Waterford (UHW).

That's the view Sinn Féin TD for Waterford and spokesperson on Health, Deputy David Cullinan, who has called on the HSE and Minister for Health to urgently put in place a strategic workforce plan for the hospital to address critical staffing shortages in the department of dermatology.

Deputy Cullinane was speaking after it was reported that a pending staffing crisis in the UHW dermatology department will present serious barriers to care for people in Waterford, with GPs being told to find alternative services for their patients.

Deputy Cullinane said: “We have seen this time and again where services come under pressure from staff shortages because the HSE is too slow to replace doctors and health workers who are leaving."

“This happens because the Government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has no strategic workforce plan that says how many doctors and nurses and health professionals we need, where they will come from, or how we will train and retain them," said Deputy Cullinane, who also said the department of dermatology at UHW was "the latest victim of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s failure to plan for our future".

"Services are under severe pressure with a consultant due to leave in the coming weeks," he said.

"This will reduce the number of consultant dermatologists down to just two, with one of them only working part-time," he added.

He said the hospital should have at least five to meet clinical need in the south east.

“This staffing crisis will present serious barriers for patients in Waterford and the South East and it is unacceptable that there is no proactive plan to prevent serious staffing shortages," said Deputy Cullinane.

“It is not acceptable that GPs are now being told to find alternative care options for their patients, which will involve long travel to different hospitals across the country where there are also long waiting lists," he added.

"It will also push more care into the private sector for no reason except poor planning."

Deputy Cullinane went on to say: “The Government and Minister for Health must get their head out of the sand and put a strategic workforce plan in place for UHW to make sure staffing shortages do not lead to service collapse.”