Bernard Gloster’s decision to resign as chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE) was “not easy” but was “the right one for both the service and myself”, his letter of resignation states.
On Tuesday, Mr Gloster tender his resignation, stating he will step down from the role on Thursday, March 5th, next year.
Mr Gloster said he will retire from public service at the same time, having spent almost 38 years in the public health service – three of which were as chief executive.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Gloster said he continues to be “privileged to serve in this very important role”.
Over the coming months he will continue to work hard with the HSE board, the Minister for Health and the Department of Health to “advance many improvements and responses to challenges”, he said.
“I wanted to bring certainty to the future leadership of the organisation as I am now in my third year as chief executive.”
In his letter of resignation, Mr Gloster said he is “satisfied that this is a suitable time for me to depart”.
“I hope that I will on leaving have contributed something to the overall improvement of the Health Service. I am giving you this length of notice as I am conscious of the time to recruit at CEO level and the various processes to be complied with,” he said.
“In doing so I would like to give the organisation the best chance at smooth transition. I want to assure you that I will continue as heretofore with full effort and endeavour in fulfilling my delegated functions until the date of my resignation.”
Mr Gloster thanked the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and secretary general of the Department of Health Robert Watt for “the privileged opportunity to have served as the fifth CEO of the Irish Health Service”.
“I particularly want to acknowledge the kindness afforded to me in making my decision to leave at the three-year point, one that was not easy, but I know is the right one for both the service and myself,” he added.
In a statement, Ms MacNeill extended her “enormous thanks” to Mr Gloster. She described him as “an extraordinary public servant, who has dedicated himself, seven days a week, to improving the health service for everyone in Ireland”.
She said she has greatly appreciated his work, expertise and friendship during her short time as Minister.
“I look forward to working with him in the coming months to continue our good work to advance a health system that works better for all,” she added.
Mr Gloster was appointed chief executive of the HSE in December 2022.
During his time in the role, he has reorganised the HSE into six health regions, sought to reduce senior managers, as well as advancing digital healthcare in the State.
Mr Gloster’s appointment was following the departure of Paul Reid who left after three years at the helm, amid tensions with the Department of Health.
His predecessor, Tony O’Brien, left the role four weeks earlier than expected in 2018 amid the CervicalCheck cancer screening scandal.
Until Mr Gloster’s appointment to the HSE, he served as chief executive of Tusla, the child and family agency, from 2019. Before joining Tusla, he spent more than 30 years working in the health service.
He held several senior management positions including chief officer of HSE Mid West Community Healthcare. He has worked in community and acute hospital operations.
He is a social care worker by profession, with an MBA from Oxford Brookes University and an MSc in Management Practice from University College Cork.
