CITY CLLR CALLS FOR TOUGHER ACTION ON ABSENTEEISM IN HSE WEST
Date Published: 28-Jun-2012
A 4.5 percent absenteeism rate was recorded at University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park Hospital last month [May].
This equates to around 138 staff for the month of May.
A 4.4 percent rate of sick leave was recorded at the city's public hospitals in April.
Chief Operating Officer Tony Canavan has defended the rate of absenteeism and says the vast majority are genuinely sick and in need of leave.
However Chairperson of the HSE West Regional Health Forum Padraig Conneely says tougher action is need to address the minority of staff who may be taking advantage of the system