Michael McHale , 2025-06-24 09:34:00
Agreement for extended working hours Monday-Sunday does not supersede new public-only consultants contract
The HSE has reach an agreement with health trade unions around the provision of services across a seven day week, which it hopes will reduce waiting lists and address the overcrowding crisis faced by hospitals around the country.
The new deal will see the introduction of an extended working day and staff rostered for five out of seven days across the week. This will be brought in on a phased basis, and set within employees’ basic weekly contracted hours. The agreement will apply to all public and voluntary hospitals.
This morning a statement from the HSE confirmed the news, which was first reported in the Irish Independent. The organisation said that the overarching aim of the extended hours of service is to facilitate smoother patient flow and greater levels of discharge in all parts of the healthcare system over a seven-day week.
“We want to thank the unions for their engagement,” said HSE CEO Bernard Gloster. “This has been a priority of the Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill and the HSE, and we now look forward to implementing it, focussing on the two priorities of patient flow (ED) and the commencement of outpatient clinics outside routine hours.”
In a circular sent to HSE senior management yesterday, HSE chief people officer Anne Marie Hoey said that staff who traditionally worked from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday will be asked to work over a six or seven day week.
She said that rostering changes will vary across sites, depending on the level of service required.
“Local management must ensure that any plans on extended day/week proposals will provide a safe environment for staff and patients/clients and that any changes would not result in the provision of existing services by inadequate or unsafe staffing levels,” she added.
In the circular, Ms Hoey points out that the 2023 public-only consultant contract provides for rostering over six days a week, and this new agreement “do not supersede that contract”.
Initially staff who usually work Monday to Friday will be asked to volunteer to work weekends. Any consultants who are employed under the 2008 HSE contract will be asked to work across the extended roster.
HSE management will conduct a review of new rostering arrangements after four months to determine their effectiveness in delivering a more productive and smoother healthcare system.
