The Office of the CEO has a number of teams reporting into it.
These teams make sure the HSE is functioning to a high standard in a number of areas.
Teams reporting to the CEO
The National Productivity Unit (NPU)
The National Productivity Unit was set up in June 2024 to support the Department of Health and HSE Productivity and Savings taskforce to help it achieve its goal. They work together to make sure that the HSE can deliver the maximum amount of patient care for the funding available.
The team's aim is to support and promote productivity across the whole of the HSE.
Reporting to the CEO, its role is to:
- measure productivity across the HSE
- identify areas that can be improved
- provide productivity advice
- publish information about HSE productivity
The NPU is a small team that includes both outside experts and senior people from within the HSE. This mix helps bring together HSE experience with specialist knowledge in making healthcare more efficient and improving how things are done.
Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management
HSE Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management is made up of a number of teams.
They include:
- Patient and Service User Engagement
- Data Protection Office
- Central Compliance Office
- National Office for Protected Disclosures
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Organisational Culture
These teams report to National Director Joe Ryan.
Patient and Service User Engagement
Patient partnership is a priority for the HSE. It ensures patients' voices have a real and meaningful impact. Their experiences influence the design, delivery and evaluation of health services.
The Patient and Service User Experience service area provides guidance on working in partnership with patients.
The team aims to deliver person-centred services that:
- are better integrated
- are more innovative
- achieve better outcomes
Data Protection Office
The HSE National Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a statutory requisite of a public service body. It provides data protection guidance to all services and functions across the HSE. It supports them to meet its obligations under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.
The National DPO office has many responsibilities that include:
- ensuring the HSE is compliant with data compliance laws
- compliance advice
- primary liaison with regulatory bodies
- communication with the public in relation to data protection matters
Central Compliance Function
In 2022, a KPMG advisory report looked at how the organisation’s second Line of Defence was working. It recommended setting up a Central Compliance Function.
This new function is still in its early stages, with its structure and staffing being finalised.
Once set up, it will:
- lead the development and rollout of the HSE’s Compliance Framework
- create centralised compliance reports for the Senior Leadership Team and the Audit and Risk Committee
- develop and maintain a Compliance Obligations Register
- set minimum compliance standards for teams in the first Line of Defence
- build a compliance network across the organisation
- develop the HSE’s compliance risk appetite statement
National Office for Protected Disclosures
Since 2009, the health sector has had arrangements in place for dealing with Protected Disclosures, often called whistleblowing. These arrangements are based on the Health Act 2004 (amended by the Health Act 2007).
The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, updated by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, applies to both public and private sectors. The updated legislation came into effect on 1 January, 2023.
The National Office for Protected Disclosures aims to:
- set policy in this area
- manage the receipt of all disclosures
- perform the initial assessment of content
- determine who is best placed to deal with a disclosure
- complete the HSE Annual Report on Protected Disclosures
- ensure all other relevant obligations under the Act are complied with
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
The ERM unit sets out to fulfil the functions of the Chief Risk Officer.
This includes:
- overseeing the implementation of the national ERM Policy and Procedures
- maintaining the HSE’s Corporate Risk Register
- delivering risk management training programmes that build capacity across the HSE