Councillor Ciaran Brogan.
The HSE spent just under €12 million for agency staff in Donegal last year.
The figures, released to Councillor Ciaran Brogan this week, show an increase of 13.3% on the previous year.
In its response to Cllr Brogan, the HSE said that Letterkenny University Hospital has engaged agency services for the provision of staff in Medical, Nursing, Support Staff (HCA’s) and Health and Social Care Professionals.
The cost of these services in 2017 were: Medical (€9,589,681), Nursing (€52,306) and HCA (€220,446).
The agency spend for Donegal Community Healthcare in 2017 was Mental Health (€1,035,415), Social Care (€1,016,658) and primary care (€13,344).
“It’s an absolute joke. We’ve never produced as many graduates fro our medical schools. We’ve the best doctors and nurses but the current HSE model makes it more attractive for these graduates to either take up employment within agencies or to travel to other countries.
“I would much prefer to see these young people stay at home and it’s about time that we set about making their remuneration packages more attractive. We need to go into these colleges to find out what their needs are and to address them. It’s a massive issue,” Cllr Brogan said.
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