Staff turnover in the HSE has decreased for the first time in five years, according to data analysed by a health expert.
The Health Executive publishes annual data on turnover rates. The turnover rate was 8.9 per cent in 2023 compared with 10.2 per cent in 2022.
The total number of staff employed by the HSE at the end of December 2023 was 145,985 WTE (Whole-time Equivalent) (163,792 personnel).
Since December 2019 the increase in staff numbers has been 26,000 WTE or up by 21.8 per cent.
At the end of 2023 the Executive introduced a system to gather data on the reasons why staff leave the service and their destination on leaving.
The early HSE data analysed shows that those leaving 63% left voluntarily, 20% due to retirement and 17 per cent involuntary such as the end of a contract.
Among the voluntary group the commonest reasons for leaving were personal 26 per cent, career opportunities 26 per cent, job satisfaction 22 per cent, emigrating 15 per cent, and permanent disability four per cent.
However, 61 per cent of leavers did not disclose their destination.
There are 89,496 nurses and midwives registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Of these, 84,213 are currently practising and 76,054 are patient facing in their role, which is a six per cent increase.
Dr John F A Murphy, editor of the Irish Medical Journal points out that there has also been a decline in the number of nurses intending to leave their current position and reducing their clinical hours.
“The reasons quoted for better retention were less burnout, less job dissatisfaction, less workplace violence, fewer instances of understaffing, and less mandatory overtime,” explained Dr Murphy in this month’s edition of the Journal.
The doctor added that efforts to reduce healthcare staff turnover are “very worthwhile”.
“They lead to improvements in patient care and outcomes. The turnover rate of an organisation is (useful) and is a surrogate marker of an organisation’s governance.”
Chief Executive of the Executive Bernard Gloster also told an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that fewer staff are leaving the health service, reversing an upward trend in departures in recent years.
"Turnover has improved, in that it decreased in 2023 by 1.3 per cent," Mr Gloster added.
