Health service management has agreed to consider Fórsa’s proposal that superintendent structures in the civil registration service should mirror those in community healthcare organisations (CHO).

The advance was made at a recent meeting called to discuss the implications of a report by consultant Sean McHugh, which was commissioned following an industrial dispute over capacity issues and the strain that so-called ‘marriages of convenience’ were putting on resources.

There are currently eight superintendent regions in the service, which the McHugh report said should fall to four. Fórsa wants the number increased to nine to mirror the same number of community healthcare organisations. The union says this would be fully consistent with strategic health service planning.

Fórsa has also called for a national lead to be introduced into the service. And it is vigorously pursuing the strengthening of the staff structures, as recommended by the McHugh report.

Talks are continuing.

This article was revised on 10^th April to correct a factual error regarding the number of superintendent regions currently in place. The original article said there were four. There are, in fact, eight.