Thomas Lyons 
The healthcare sector in Ireland is facing a major staff crisis, with many workers emigrating or changing careers. The Excel Recruitment Annual Salary Guide 2023 has revealed that this crisis has forced many healthcare and pharmacy employers to increase pay rates in a bid to attract and retain staff. The average salaries have increased by €4,000, with some senior positions in the pharmacy sector seeing salary increases in the range of €7,000 or more.
Despite healthcare salaries typically increasing by between 3% and 8% over the last year, there has been a mass exodus of staff from this sector. This has led to significant problems in the delivery of healthcare services across the country, with some hospitals struggling to keep wards open. The Excel Recruitment Employee Feedback Survey shows that the demand for healthcare workers is still just as high as it was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shane McLave, managing director at Excel Recruitment, said that the Government needs to put its money where its mouth is if it wants to halt the exodus of staff from healthcare. Staffing levels across healthcare have hit record lows with an additional 15,000 healthcare workers needed by 2035, according to projections from the ESRI. The Government’s track record around the €1,000 tax-free bonus for frontline public sector healthcare workers leaves much to be desired and has helped contribute to the staff crisis.
The exclusion of private hospital staff from this payment has also insulted many of those working in private healthcare. The delay in the payment of the bonus to those working in private and voluntary nursing homes has further added to the insult. Recent figures show that 66,000 healthcare workers are still waiting on the bonus. Against a backdrop like this, it is not surprising that so many healthcare workers have left the country or changed their jobs.
The Excel research found that private nursing homes often struggle to compete with the Health Services Executive (HSE) when attracting staff. The HSE is now offering up to €4,000 in relocation costs in a bid to attract health staff to work in Ireland. Private nursing homes struggle to compete with benefits such as this. It’s not feasible for some private nursing homes to match the HSE’s pay scale or pension contribution. In many cases, staff do not necessarily want to leave their own nursing home and have no option but to go for the higher salary which private homes cannot compete with.
The high demand for healthcare workers has pushed up salaries and hourly pay rates for many positions. The average salary of a director of nursing in private residential care is now €86,000, up from €82,000 last year, while the average salary for an assistant director of nursing is now €64,000, up from €60,000 last year. However, not all salaries have gone up. Many nurses and other healthcare professionals will be on the same hourly rate today as they were on last year. Many healthcare employers simply can’t afford to pay more.
The Excel Recruitment Annual Salary Guide 2023 has found that some positions in the pharmacy sector are commanding much higher salaries today than they did last year. A store manager in a large pharmacy can expect a salary of between €55,000 and €70,000 today, compared to between €38,000 and €43,000 last year. An assistant manager in a large pharmacy can expect a salary of between €40,000 and €45,000 today, up from between €34,000 and €36,000 last year.
The pharmacy industry is thriving, but staffing this sector has become extremely challenging over the last number of years. Ireland has just over 6,700 registered pharmacists, but it only trains around 2.4% of that number each year, which leads to major staffing shortages. The Excel Recruitment Employee Feedback Survey has shown that the Government needs to step up to the plate and put its money where its mouth is if it wants to halt the exodus of staff from this sector.
In conclusion, the healthcare sector in Ireland is facing a major staff crisis. Despite increasing salaries, there has been a mass exodus of staff from this sector, which has led to significant problems in the delivery of healthcare services across the country. The Government needs to take action to address this crisis if it wants to retain and attract healthcare workers.
