New position of HSE Chief Risk Officer remains vacant

The HSE failed to find a suitable candidate for its new position of Chief Risk Officer (CRO) prior to the pandemic, but plans a further search later this year. In 2019, following changes in the HSE’s organisational structure at a corporate level and the appointment of the board, the Executive conducted a review of risk management.

The scoping inquiry into the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2018 had recommended that “the implementation of new governance arrangements for the HSE should include a substantial revision to the organisational approach to risk management and its reporting”, noted the HSE’s Annual Report and Financial Statement 2019. The review of the HSE’s approach to risk management recognised that while significant progress had been achieved, “challenges remained in implementing and embedding risk management in a manner that integrates both corporate and clinical governance across the health service.”

One of the central recommendations in the review’s report was the need for the appointment of a dedicated CRO.
The application date for the CRO post closed in January, a HSE spokesperson told the Medical Independent. “The recruitment process did not identify a suitable candidate. A further process is expected to be undertaken later in the year.” The spokesperson added that “the HSE recognises the importance of adopting a proactive approach to the management of risk to support both the achievement of objectives and compliance with governance requirements”.

“A key feature of managing risk in everyday practice relates to recognising the risks relating to the HSE and having in place the systems and processes to reduce the risk of these occurring or if they do, to minimise their impact.”