Health staff will be required to take on students for clinical placements in a bid to increase qualified workers in under-resourced disciplines, under new plans being advanced by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
In recent years, a number of specialities have been under growing pressure to meet demand, resulting in some patients waiting several years for care.
These specialities, many of which are in the primary care system, include occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.
Government has agreed to increase training places for these therapies, with the HSE being responsible to ensure these individuals are able to obtain a clinical placement to fully qualify for these roles.
RM Block
Speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday, Bernard Gloster, chief executive of the HSE, confirmed some of these students have had difficulty in finding such placements, and were forced to go abroad.
Mr Gloster said the number of HSE-employed therapists in the various specialities has increased “exponentially” and these therapists are “professionally trained”.
“After a certain period of time, they have the capability to supervise a student. I don’t see as big an obstacle to taking on students as they might do.”
“I think the infrastructure that some professionals require to take students is not only not necessary but it’s inappropriate to block people,” he said.
“We will be making it very clear that provision of clinical placements will become a compliant requirement for the workforce. I am making it clear for 2026.
“That’s [not taking students] an affront to the supply and it’s sending those students away and telling them we don’t want them. We may have a fight on our hands. We don’t negotiate with ourselves.”
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Mr Gloster said he was “not proud of our records on children’s services - disability or mental health”.
However, he added that the Minister gave him approval to “clear some of the demand lists in some of the therapies” and this will be done through “insourcing” of HSE staff, as well as using the private sector.
He added that funding provided in this year’s budget for additional staff will be used to “positively discriminate” in favour of these primary care specialities that are under pressure.
Speaking at the same meeting, Derek Tierney, assistant secretary from the Department of Health, told politicians about the “significant age profile” of many HSE buildings.
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Mr Tierney said many of the facilities in the HSE estate date back to the 1950s, “many of which were not originally designed for modern healthcare delivery”.
“This challenge is evident given that 17 of our hospitals were built over 200 years ago. This legacy of ageing buildings is recognised as a key challenge for capital investment decisions in terms of compliance, safety, energy efficiency, climate adaptation and clinical suitability,” he said.
“Historical capital funding patterns has left a significant portion of the estate functionally obsolete, with buildings that are difficult to retrofit for contemporary healthcare delivery and legacy ICT systems no longer fit for purpose.”
