Esther o'flaherty

senior respiratory physiotherapist galway university hospital

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

@TescoIRLnews I booked my Christmas turkey and ham
Months in advance, checked the night before, all good. Only to be told by email receipt that the ham is UNAVAILABLE!!!

Why encourage customers to book early if you cannot supply this!!
Shocking and bad service @TescoIrl @Tesco @TescoIRLnews

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

A huge thank you to @PHILIPPARACKAL & all in @GalwayICAPSS for a wonderful on-call physiotherapy simulation bootcamp. Thanks also to all of the educators for their time & insights, @d_o_dowd @ciaradolanleavy @stephen Bradish, Donal McGarry. Along with all of the engaged learners

[Staff News HSE West and North West @StaffNewsWNW]

Celebrating #HSCPDay2025 at University Hospital Galway, Laura Kennedy, Radiation Therapist with her #HSCPs colleagues from the critical care unit.
Today, we proudly acknowledge the exceptional work and vital contributions of all our Health & Social Care Professionals 🙏

[Sinead Brosnan @brosnansinead1]

HSCP do not have a seat at Executive Management Team in new RHA structure despite being 2nd largest clinical workforce nationally.Forsa are launching a petition seeking as many signatures to raise⁩. Time to raise our voices-please share with fellow HSCP https://t.co/8keiqauxXz

[michaeltmccarthy @mccarthymt7]

Ok, back to whining.

@rte published this news story last Sunday afternoon: https://t.co/rVvjPVzVgq

On Monday morning, I thought: fantastic, this will correct some immediately solvable systemic therapy delivery issues in Portiuncula and Galway in particular. Solutions that have been lined up to take effect as soon as the @HSE_live recruitment moratorium ended.

As it turns out the recruitment moratorium has not ended, rather, it has taken on a new form. We still cannot recruit the 4 vacant staff nurse posts in our dayward that are desperately needed, for example.

Quoting from the article, @BernardGloster is of this view: “recruitment limits and controls for regions [the new Regional Health Authorities] have been set and cannot be breached”.

While it may well be the case that the upper levels of management are aware of these regional recruitment limits, and how they affect HSE services regionally, I do not know what these recruitment limits are. I have asked.

It is disingenuous to declare that the HSE recruitment moratorium has ended, when the moratorium as far as I can see has de facto not changed.

A few points:

1. The management of the hospitals that I work in are highly competent and capable, and work hard every day to improve the standard of care we offer to patients. They have my full support.

2. There are 4 vacant staff nurse posts allocated to our dayward that are desperately needed (and have been for the past 6 months; existing staff are digging deep to cover the shortfalls, it has been going on too long now) to deliver the level of access and service that we would all like to see. This is my current priority, but there are a wide range of HSCP positions also vacant.

3. Those vacant staff nurse posts are still currently not recruitable as of today (despite what @BernardGloster might have implied).

4. When the number of staff available to run a clinical service drops below a critical service-delivery threshold - to the extent that demoralisation sets in - the reputational damage to that service is harmful for a generation. It is difficult to recover from that.

5. If regional recruitment limits have been set, I would like to know what those regional limits are, and how those numbers are distributed. We need more nurses, and HSCPs to deliver a functional service. These are in my mind already existing posts. If previously active permanent posts are being eliminated by the HSE, we need details.

6. Transparency from the @HSE_live around the regional recruitment limits that are set is essential. The allocation of WTE in publicly funded hospitals (voluntary and non-voluntary) nationally must be proportionate to clinical activity.

7. Without a functional electronic healthcare record, I have no idea how resources can be fairly distributed nationally based on activity.

In summary, the HSE recruitment moratorium has effectively not ended.

I’ll stop short there for now.

[Rowing Ireland @RowingIreland]

☘️A Final Result☘️

GOLD for Siobhan in the LW1x!

#WeAreRowingIreland
#GreenBlades

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

@RowingIreland Well done Siobhan. Great rowing.

[Reg Turner @RegJTurner]

Ever considered becoming a single car family???
Galway Cycling Campaign and Galway City Council invite you to come try and see different models of cargo/family bikes and swap tips.
Toft Park Salthill, Saturday May 12th, 11am-2pm. (Between aquarium and Galway business school

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

@Carroll_PAC Sorry to hear this news, and you will be greatly missed. It is saddening for those oesophageal cancer patients and their families, who now will not get the lives that your @Carroll_PAC expertise would have offered them. Best wishes.

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

@GalwayICAPSS @ciaradolanleavy @RuthCooney @PHILIPPARACKAL @saoltagroup @WeHSCPs @HSE_NSO @DrDaraByrne @RuthCooney @GalwayICAPSS Philip and all, thank you so much for facilitating on-call physiotherapy training days, and ensuring patient focused treatment an safety. Great two days training and learning. @saoltagroup

[ICAPSS @GalwayICAPSS]

Delighted to support Physio Bootcamp. Using simulation based education for Physio on-call competencies. Well done to the Physio department, GUH. @ciaradolanleavy @Estofla @RuthCooney @PHILIPPARACKAL @saoltagroup @WeHSCPs @HSE_NSO @DrDaraByrne

[ICAPSS @GalwayICAPSS]

Fantastic day of learning from the Physio Bootcamp day. Simulation based learning using a combination of skills and scenarios for Physiotherapy on-call competencies, GUH. Well done to the Physio Depart, GUH @Estofla @ciaradolanleavy @RuthCooney @PHILIPPARACKAL @saoltagroup

[Esther o'flaherty @Estofla]

Huge thanks to @RuthCooney Philip and all @GalwayICAPSS for a fabulous first day of simulation for On-call physiotherapy in GUH. Great learning all things Resp, airway clearance and on call communication skills. @ciaradolanleavy @d_o_dowd @EavanHiggins @salthill01 @saoltagroup

[Reg Turner @RegJTurner]

This Sunday evening come join us for a family friendly cycle around the city . Bring your bells, whistles, singing voices , Christmas lights, tinsel, children, mammies, daddies . All welcome!! Hot chocolate for all in Millennium Playground afterwards!!

[Kevin O'Connell @salthill01]

Our Physio Department (males!)in GUH are raising funds for Pieta House @PietaHouse for Movember! Please consider donating for this great cause. Thank you all @saolta https://t.co/uWfdf2Z8DH

[Sian 💙 @sianphysio]

Such an interesting first talk from @georgentou1 - happy to see someone championing the use of instilled saline! #respisbest