McCarthy: anger over claims of agency staff providing false references
23rd July 2025
Health employers including hospitals, nursing homes and disability services in Northern Ireland have been warned of a number of health staff supplied by an agency who were dis-covered to have falsified references. A warning has been issued by the Department of Health and refers to workers employed through a recruitment company and agency supplying staff across the health service.
Workers Party rep, Fiona McCarthy, who is employed in the health service, said this report is not only serious but dangerous.
She said, "we look after people who are at their most vulnerable when ill and have a duty of care to ensure that staff working in our hospitals and nursing homes have the proper skills. This raises a very key point on safeguarding if Agencies are not carrying out due diligence when sending staff to work in the health sector."
She continued "trusts are contracted with agencies instead of employing appropriate levels of staffing. This has led to spending millions of pounds every year and has been criticised by trade unions and by the Workers Party".
Ms McCarthy went on to state: "The minster, the department and the scrutiny committees must now move to end the use of agencies to place staff in our hospitals or other facilities.
“Patients put their trust in those caring for them and the Trusts have a duty of care to ensure it.
"Staff should be recruited and employed by the health service. Patients place their trust in those providing medical and other services, and the health service must take action now to ensure that trust is not broken.
"Giving false references is a serious issue and agencies who have been involved in this level of negligence must be held accountable if these claims are found to be accurate. The best day to deal with this issue in future is to ensure that staff are directly employed by our health service rather than by outsourced employment agencies.”