ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Department - Human Resources
A review of the NCHD induction process took place and a new induction programme was implemented that
received positive feedback from contributors and participants alike. Provisions were put in place and
supported by the Medical Board in order to facilitate attendance by NCHDs. This resulted in a significant
increase in attendance of approximately 50%. An induction programme was also implemented for newly
appointed permanent consultants, which has received positive feedback.
HR Services Division
This was another active year for the HR Services Division. The division continued to develop management
information on absences provided to department heads as part of managing attendance. The management
of the probation review process was also implemented.
There was an increase in the requirement from staff for work / life balance services such as flexible working,
parental leave and leave of absence. The volume of work permit / visa renewals reflected the increase in the
diversity of nationalities and cultures within the hospital.
The division continued to make significant progress on an electronic document archiving project, which is
allowing for more efficient retrieval of archival records.
HR Services took a lead role in the development of Human Resources Policies and Procedures and these
will be launched in early 2008. Staff information / standard forms continued to be set up on the SVUH
Intranet.
Pensions
A dedicated HR Benefits Unit was established in the first quarter of 2007 to provide a comprehensive
service to all current/former members of the Hospital’s Pension Schemes and its establishment has been
well-received by employees. Substantial progress was made in prioritising initial key tasks and clearing
historical backlogs, as well as providing a more proactive service to new and existing members. On the
external front, the Unit had to contend with the challenging transfer of the management of the Pension
Schemes from the Department of Health & Children in Dublin to a brand new team in the HSE HR Shared
Service Division in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim.
Feedback from consultative sessions as part of the HR Strategy Review has re-confirmed that employees
generally place a very high value on receiving information on their Pension Scheme entitlements. For the
first time, in 2007 c. 3000 members were issued with updated Scheme Member Booklets and Annual Grade
Statement, which provided invaluable summary information of potential member benefits and entitlements,
complemented by a Pensions Open Day.
In addition to day-to-day work and an ongoing project to assess eligibility to reckon prior part-time service
for pension purposes, the unit completed preparatory work for the possible introduction of a new Pensions
Management System to complement the deployment of the new Payroll System (Northgate) within the
hospital. By year-end, the newly established Benefits Unit was well placed to meet ongoing challenges and
to further develop the service offered at a time of growing interest and media coverage on the true value of
Public Sector Pensions.
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