The HSE has started a national and international recruiting drive to find consultants for the Irish health sector, and is pleading with many medical professionals working overseas to come back.
The new initiative, which focuses on the new public consultant contract, seeks to fill 400 openings this year.
In addition to a highly competitive industry, there is also a global scarcity of healthcare employees. As a result, several international health systems, including the HSE, are attempting to fill this gap by hiring individuals from overseas.
According to Anne Marie Hoey, national head of HR for the HSE, the campaign will target both domestic and foreign workers, including both new hires from abroad and those who had their training in Ireland.
“We want to develop awareness of the variety of consultant posts available in Ireland, and make eligible clinicians aware that the new, generously remunerated consultant contract is live,” she said.
The campaign will commence internationally across print media, social media and digital media.
“We hope to build on the HSE’s well-established international recruitment practice, with competitive relocation packages, that has welcomed in excess of 20,000 people, including 3,500 internationally recruited nurses over the last two years,” Hoey added.
Over the last two years, the HSE has hired 3,500 nurses from overseas as part of its campaign to improve the health service.
Commenting on the recruitment drive, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly said: “We have recruited over 20,000 additional staff to our health service over the last three years, including over 2,000 doctors as we continue to expand and build capacity.
“The new consultant contract is central to our drive towards universal healthcare and delivering for our growing and aging population the health services they need.”