Concern at new HSE ‘all-encompassing’ role

A new “all-encompassing” role in the HSE which has caused concern amongst psychiatric nurses is also concerning to Cork psychologists and union reps.

At present there are psychology managers over mental health (including Camhs), primary care, disability, hospital and social inclusion services — the director of psychology for the HSE South West Health role advertised would be a new tier of management over all of these.

Clinical psychologist and Social Democrats councillor for the East Cork Municipal District Liam Quaide said: “The job description for this post involves a radical extension of governance across all psychology services in the region.

“It is many years since we had a director of psychology in the HSE — in the then HSE Eastern region — and that post-holder did not have the all-encompassing powers that this new job description proposes.

“Who exactly authored the job description for the South West and which psychology managers were consulted on it should be part of a transparent process.”

A Fórsa spokesperson told The Echo it “has not been consulted in relation to the new post of director of psychology”.

The spokesperson continued: “While we are not opposed in principle to the post of director of psychology, it is of major concern to us that management have not met their obligations of consultation and engagement.”

They added:

 “A proper consultation phase would have allowed us to involve our members and bring any queries and concerns to management.”

Fórsa has written to the office of the regional executive officer seeking that the competition be set aside to allow for full consultation, and have requested an urgent meeting with management.

The spokesperson added: “While a meeting date has been offered by management, we are seeking the meeting take place at an earlier time or a commitment that the recruitment competition be put on hold to allow for consultation and engagement.”

Similarly, the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) said that it was “not consulted with on any aspect of the recently advertised post”.

Following the advertisement, PSI received a request to nominate two directors of psychology to contribute to the recruitment campaign and serve on the interview board for the post, which it has done.

“The PSI membership has expressed concerns regarding certain elements of the job description for this position, and PSI is currently in the process of collating this feedback,” they said.

A HSE spokesperson said: “Our primary objective with this new post is to enhance clinical governance, ensuring that our services are both safe and of the highest quality. The HSE will also engage with relevant representative bodies as needed, to maintain open communication and collaborative progress.”