The audit pointed out that the go-ahead of the assistant national director of human resources is needed for that level of payout – but it was not in place in this case.
The audit, which looked at lump sum and pension payments in Cork and Kerry, found four of 20 retirees owed money totalling €11,812 to the HSE.
Two of the four retirees had a technical adjustment balance owing at retirement that was not deducted from their retirement benefit. In the case of two others, salary benefits continued to be paid to them after their retirement dates.
Both retirees were told of the overpayments – but the money can only be recouped with their written authorisation.
At the time of the audit, one of the former employees agreed to repay the overpayment but deductions had yet to start. In the case of the second person, no agreement was in place.
Three of the 20 retirees sampled received lump-sum payments ranging from €268,000 to €363,000.
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 20th March 2024
In a separate audit, it was found a nurse was overpaid €5,539 in what is “suspected irregular behaviour” by the employee. The auditors discovered the payment to the nurse – who was on sick leave from one post in Limerick while starting another in Kerry.
The period covered 56 days from November 2022 to January 2023.
The audit said it would “appear the employee simultaneously provided the HSE with medical certs in one area and worked in another, thereby collecting duplicate payments.”
The incident has been reported to gardaí, and the HSE has been recommended to also inform the nurses’ regulatory body, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.
Meanwhile, a third audit revealed the low take-up for a much vaunted work-performance programme announced in recent years.
An audit of the Saolta hospital group in the west showed fewer than 1pc had signed up in 2022, despite a target of 70pc. In June last year, it was still just 5pc.
The scheme involves staff setting out their objectives and desired achievements in line with their roles, followed by meetings with line managers for review and discussion.
No doctor or nurse signed up. Only seven managers and administrators participated. Eight health and social care professionals did take part, along with two general support staff. There is no process to deal with the low engagements within the area.
A separate audit said no evidence was found that garda vetting was carried out on three agency doctors, as the HSE paid out €4.7m to recruitment firms which were not obliged to ensure staff were subject to background checks.
The auditors looked at the CH03 area – covering Clare, Limerick, north Tipperary and east Limerick – which paid out €19m in 2022 to 29 employment agencies to recruit agency staff.
However, €4.7m of this went to firms which were not on an approved framework list, meaning they did not have an agreement to garda vet the staff they hired.
The top five of these non-framework agencies were paid €3.6m.
They were involved in hiring staff including nurses, healthcare attendants, doctors and catering workers.
The auditors reviewed files in a number of areas. The sample involved 47 staff.
They found that for three medical doctors, sourced via a UK agency in 2022, there was no evidence of confirmation of vetting available.
Management were of the understanding that the vetting had been undertaken by the agency – but in the absence of records, it was not possible to verify this.
The audit said it was urgent that the HSE’s national human resources division should make provision for garda vetting arrangements for non-employees hired by agencies who do not have a service-level agreement with the HSE.
It found a weakness in a HSE human resources circular issued in 2018, which said employment agencies with service-level agreements with the HSE are responsible for garda vetting of all workers assigned to the service.
The auditors said that nursing management confirmed that it is customary to retain an agency staff panel, which is referred to directly as vacancies arise.
“With labour shortages nationwide exacerbating the situation, this practice aims to provide service continuity, reduce induction and training in time and preserve familiarity which ultimately benefits the patient and the service,” the auditors said.
“However, this practice consequently results in the same agencies being used, whether or not part of a framework – and inadvertently bypasses the required protocol for securing agency staff.”