HSE People and Culture Committee Meeting Minutes 12 March 2024

Members Present

Yvonne Traynor (Chair), Brendan Whelan, Bernie O'Reilly, Matt Walsh, Sarah McLoughlin, Doreen Gerety.

Apologies

Aogán Ó Fearghail, Michelle O’Sullivan, Professor Colette Cowan, CEO ULHG.

HSE Executive Attendance: Anne Marie Hoey (Chief People Officer), Philippa Withero (AND Strategic Workforce Planning and Intelligence), Leah O’Toole, HR, Niamh Drew (Deputy Corporate Secretary), Breda Moore (Office of the Board).

Joined the meeting

Elaine Kilroe, AND, Governance & Risk, Office of the CSO (Item 4 – Corporate Risk); Liam Woods, National Director, Health Regions Programme (Item 5 – Organisation Development), Pat O’Toole & Louise Doyle (Item 6 – Continuous Development & Succession Planning)

Minutes reflect the order in which items were considered and are numbered in accordance with the original agenda. All performance/activity data used in this document refers to the latest information available at the time.

The Committee held a private session where the Chair provided a brief summary on the agenda, the relevant papers and approach to conducting the meeting.

2.1 Declarations of Interest

No conflicts of interest were declared.

2.2 Review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference

The Committee discussed the Terms of Reference which have been in place for some time and are in need of revision. It was agreed that revised Terms of Reference will be discussed at the next meeting and will be presented to the Board for approval once finalised.

2.3 Annual Report

The Committee approved the Annual Report.

2.4 Minutes

The Minutes of the People & Culture meeting held on the 13th January were approved.

3.1 Bi Monthly Report

The Chief People Officer presented a high level report on her Bi Monthly report.

The Committee was briefed on the suspension of FORSA Industrial Action. A set of proposals were finalised which include agreement to develop a specific Framework Agreement in relation to the recruitment of management and admin staff, however, it was noted that this will need to be done in the context of the Pay & Numbers Strategy. In addition, it was agreed that a policy in relation to lateral movement would be developed.

The Committee was updated on the Diversity, Equality & Inclusion– staff with disabilities survey. On February 29 2024, National HR launched an all-staff disability survey to better understand how disability affects people at work across the HSE. The survey is open from 29th February to 21st March 2024. The data from the survey aims to improve the supports available for HSE managers and staff, and to help the HSE meet its legal duty to report on the number of employees with a disability.

The Committee reviewed the Census data which showed 146,429 WTE at the end of January. This figure included pre-registration nursing & midwifery internship students and when adjusted for same the actual increase is +108 WTE. The Pay & Numbers Strategy is in the final stages of preparation.

The Committee was informed that the roll out of NiSRP is progressing in HSE West. The Dept. of Health have expressed written support for the deployments within the S38’s And further engagement with the DOH in relation to the business case is necessary as a next step.

The Committee was briefed on the numbers of Consultants who are currently employed on the Public Only Consultant Contract, current figure is 1572, 440 of which are new recruits. This figure represents significant progress towards a critical mass of consultants on the new contract. The committee asked if weekend rostering is now taking place in all hospitals and if the required supports are available to facilitate implementation. The CPO pointed out that this is essentially a matter for the operational system in terms of most efficient use of consultant presence on site. The committee asked to be kept updated on progress and stressed the importance of 7 day cover.

The Committee was briefed on how HR will support the recently appointed Regional Executive Officers in the 6 new Health Regions. The Committee agreed that it would be useful to have a review of the People Strategy 2019-2024 at a future Committee meeting to close out the issue.

3.2 HR Dashboard Internal Management Data

The Committee reviewed and discussed the HR Internal Management dashboard which had been circulated prior to the meeting. It was noted that the Pay & Numbers Strategy 2024 is in the final stages with the expectation that the final WTE limits will be issued to inform discussion of the HR Dashboard at the next meeting in May.

3.3 National Taskforce on NCHD Workforce Final Recommendations Report

Leah O’Toole, HR joined the meeting

The Chief People Officer provided background to the National Taskforce on NCHD Workforce Final Recommendations Report which was published on the 7th February. Significant progress has been made in relation to the interim recommendations. The responsibility for implementation of the Final Taskforce recommendations fall under a number of areas across the HSE. There are several recommendations that will require both a national and local approach therefore the implementation structure must reflect these regional and local implementation structures. An implementation plan is currently under development.

A budget of €5 million is available in 2024 to progress the Taskforce recommendations.

It should be noted that a number of the recommendations are substantial and it will not be possible to progress all recommendations within this budget. Costing of the recommendations is required which will enable estimates to be submitted for future years. The Committee noted that feedback on implementation of interim recommendations has been positive. The CPO advised that a response to the Minister’s letter is currently being prepared and this will be available to the Committee for review and feedback next week.

Elaine Kilroe, AND, Governance & Risk, Office of the CSO joined the meeting.

The AND, Governance & Risk provided an update on the revised Corporate Risk Register which was presented to the Audit & Risk Committee in February. The revised Corporate Risk Register will be presented to the March Board meeting for sign off. It was be discussed by the Committee at the next meeting in May.

Liam Woods, National Director, Health Regions Programme joined the meeting.

The Committee were briefed on progress in relation to the Health Regions Programme. Five of the six Regional Executive Officers (REO) have taken up their posts. The remaining REO will commence in April. The HSE Centre will support the REOs. The Committee discussed the cultural shift involved in devolving authority and accountability to the Regions and the opportunity this provides to embed values and culture within the new structures. The CPO advised the Committee that a Culture Framework has been devised and finalised.

Louise Doyle and Pat O’Boyle joined the meeting.

The Committee were briefed on the HSE’s approach to Succession Planning. Following discussion it was acknowledged that advancement through career structures, and individual training and learning facilities coupled with experience support the pipeline of those who may be prepared to be senior leaders of the future. It was also noted that open competitions are essential in filling positions that become available attracting a mix of internal candidates and external candidates. The committee advised that a broader more strategic approach to succession planning is required and this topic would be added to the agenda for an end of year meeting. The Committee requested that a paper exploring the complexities of succession planning be submitted at that time.

This topic was deferred to a future meeting.

The meeting concluded at 12.50pm.