IMPACT’s Health and Welfare division has launched a campaign to defend the ‘hidden heroes’ of our health services. The idea is to educate and inform the public about the vital behind-the-scenes contributions of staff, in a culture where so-called ‘front-line’ workers get most of the attention and acknowledgement.
A series of campaign videos, featuring a range of professions including an A&E administrator, a pharmacist, a physiotherapist, a clinical engineer, and a senior cardiac physiologist, have been produced as part of the initiative.
IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said the union wanted to explain that all staff play an important part in delivering quality health services. “It’s often suggested that the health service is awash with backroom staff who are surplus to requirements. That’s simply not the case, and we are trying to develop awareness about the important contribution of all staff,” he said.
Eamonn points to the popular view that health service delivery only involves so-called ‘front-line’ workers. “There are no front-line services without proper backroom teams and support. Many of our members work in those critical backroom teams. They are the hidden heroes of our health services and it’s time to acknowledge that,” he said.
Jackie Brown provides administrative support to medical staff in a busy Dublin emergency department. “We are the front line. When people arrive at the emergency department, we are there at the start of their journey, and we are determined to ensure their journey starts well with positivity and support. It’s not just about being an administrator, it’s being there to empathise and observe. Nurses, doctors and the support and admin staff are all vital to the services,” she says.
Deirdre Whelan is a senior cardiac physiologist in the south east, where she undertakes diagnostic testing in respiratory, vascular, gastroenterology, and neurophysiology. “As cardiac physiologists we perform a vast array of tests, because there are all different aspects to the heart. Our work is of utmost importance, as patients need the correct tests so they can get the right medical treatment. Without our diagnostic testing, doctors would be working blind,” she says.
Noel Gilligan is a pharmacist in a large Dublin hospital. “I’m working in cancer services. I work in an ascetic compounding unit, where we manufacture or compound chemotherapy and release chemotherapy to the wards and day clinics. We also work in the haematology oncology wards as a clinical pharmacists, plus the oncology day ward. We screen chemotherapy prescriptions and plan in-patients for chemo,” he says.
Maura Cahalan, who chairs IMPACT’s Health and Welfare division says there are many more hidden heroes too. “We have a lot of members working in medical records, accounts, central referrals, and many other vital areas. The public don’t see them, but they are essential cogs in the service,” she says.
Watch the ‘hidden heroes’ videos here:
Noel Gilligan; Andrea Fottrell; Karie Murray; Rebecca Maher; Jackie Brown; Deirdre Whelan; Niall Geoghegan; Siobhan O'Curren
