HSE Covid Swabbing roles

pegdrums · 29-10-2020 7:34pm

Got an email from them today asking for overseas police clearance. I'm hoping it's a good sign HOWEVER I had assumed a similar link to the Garda 'invitation to Garda vetting' would have been sent out so had been waiting for such a form. The email says, 'Upon review, it has been noted we have not received a copy of your Overseas Police Clearance'. I'd have had it done by now!

Anyone else in the same boat? How did it effect your application

I've to get mine from Australia

Rickwellwood · 29-10-2020 8:26pm

FYI I had to get police clearance from the US and this was requested prior to the Garda vetting request. It took two weeks for the US Police clearance to arrive. Its probably a good sign and I dont think it affected the overall process unduly. Hope this helps.

pegdrums · 29-10-2020 9:11pm

Rickwellwood wrote: »

FYI I had to get police clearance from the US and this was requested prior to the Garda vetting request. It took two weeks for the US Police clearance to arrive. Its probably a good sign and I dont think it affected the overall process unduly. Hope this helps.

Yep, that helps a lot thanks. gonna ring Melbourne in an hr to get it sorted a.s.a.p.

fionnr01 · 29-10-2020 11:14pm

Awwwwfook wrote: »

HBS will phone you I think regarding salary. They rang me anyway. The area will be on your contract which comes through after salary is agreed.

They sending me reminders to sign this acceptance but no phone call yet, I dont even know my base location?
Im feeling under pressure to sign but i honestly cant if i dont know the base ... Anyone else been in this situation? Ive emailed requesting a ph call

fionnr01 · 29-10-2020 11:14pm

Awwwwfook wrote: »

HBS will phone you I think regarding salary. They rang me anyway. The area will be on your contract which comes through after salary is agreed.

They sending me reminders to sign this acceptance but no phone call yet, I dont even know my base location?
Im feeling under pressure to sign but i honestly cant if i dont know the base ... Anyone else been in this situation? Ive emailed requesting a ph call

fionnr01 · 31-10-2020 9:56am

Do they pay double time for Sundays and Bank Holidays?

monkey25 · 31-10-2020 7:17pm

Hi all. I’ve been offered the community swabber job and an Sna subbing position . It’s either a feast or famine . Just wondering if anyone has started yet and what training is involved for the swabbing . Like how many weeks ? Also how are ye finding it all ? I have a few decisions to make ðŸ™ˆ.

Gael23 · 02-11-2020 5:21pm

Why on earth would you want to put your life in danger to do these jobs?

Divisadero · 02-11-2020 8:58pm

Gael23 wrote: »

Why on earth would you want to put your life in danger to do these jobs?

In case those who applied don't wish to answer I can think of a few possible reasons. Firstly they may be desperate for employment. Secondly they may wish to contribute. Out of civic duty if you like. Believe it or not some people still think this way. Another possible reason is that they may have an interest in the field as in they may wish to try working in a medical environment for a change to see if they like it. Others may be former medical or lab staff who wish to return to offer their services during the covid crisis. Or it could be a mix of these or other reasons.

fionnr01 · 03-11-2020 12:35pm

Gael23 wrote: »

Why on earth would you want to put your life in danger to do these jobs?

I would reply but I dont do ignorance

pegdrums · 03-11-2020 3:35pm

Divisadero wrote: »

In case those who applied don't wish to answer I can think of a few possible reasons. Firstly they may be desperate for employment. Secondly they may wish to contribute. Out of civic duty if you like. Believe it or not some people still think this way. Another possible reason is that they may have an interest in the field as in they may wish to try working in a medical environment for a change to see if they like it. Others may be former medical or lab staff who wish to return to offer their services during the covid crisis. Or it could be a mix of these or other reasons.

Spot on.

pegdrums · 03-11-2020 3:37pm

Got this email from them today:

Hi *****

Please find below a link to the National Garda Vetting Invitation form which must be completed and signed before we can continue with your application.

The role you are being vetted for is Community Swabber.

Upon Review, It has been noted that your address is slightly different on your Garda Vetting Form compared to your Proof of Address Document due to a spelling error on Line 2. Please amend so both match exactly word for word.

Please use the Proof of Address you provided for reference and just write exactly what is stated on that for your Address on Garda Vetting form.

Please use the link below to start the vetting process

Are they asking me to apply for my Garda vetting by giving my incorrect current address?? Seems very odd!!!

monkey25 · 04-11-2020 7:36pm

pegdrums wrote: »

Got this email from them today:

Hi *****

Please find below a link to the National Garda Vetting Invitation form which must be completed and signed before we can continue with your application.

The role you are being vetted for is Community Swabber.

Upon Review, It has been noted that your address is slightly different on your Garda Vetting Form compared to your Proof of Address Document due to a spelling error on Line 2. Please amend so both match exactly word for word.

Please use the Proof of Address you provided for reference and just write exactly what is stated on that for your Address on Garda Vetting form.

Please use the link below to start the vetting process

Are they asking me to apply for my Garda vetting by giving my incorrect current address?? Seems very odd!!!

when i filled out the original vetting form at the beginning i had added my middle name . This wasn’t the same as on my Photo ID so i just took out my middle name and gave my forename and surname . You need to give exactly what you gave on your first form.

pegdrums · 04-11-2020 9:38pm

monkey25 wrote: »

You need to give exactly what you gave on your first form.

This is my query.....
my original Garda vetting form has the correct address.

The proof of address form I sent HBS had a misspelling on the second line.

So am I to keep consistency with the Garda vetting form or the proof of address?

Thanks.

monkey25 · 05-11-2020 12:27am

pegdrums wrote: »

This is my query.....
my original Garda vetting form has the correct address.

The proof of address form I sent HBS had a misspelling on the second line.

So am I to keep consistency with the Garda vetting form or the proof of address?

Thanks.

I would email them and explain .

condubh · 05-11-2020 5:47am

pegdrums wrote: »

This is my query.....
my original Garda vetting form has the correct address.

The proof of address form I sent HBS had a misspelling on the second line.

So am I to keep consistency with the Garda vetting form or the proof of address?

Thanks.

I had the exact same issue. I just responded to their email with a new proof of address without the misspelling.

Got the job offer today.

pegdrums · 05-11-2020 12:18pm

Great news, congrats.

Would you mind sending me the email address you sent the form to?
When I replied to that email with a new proof o address they simply sent back the original email they sent in the first place.

Rang National Garda vetting bureau. Weren't much help. They gave me the number of someone in the HBS/HSE recruitment- turns out even after accepting the job offer I am not on their system. They gave me a contact in CPL to find out what's going on.

So my situation has gone from a small spelling mistake to not existing with an organisation with whom I have accepted a job offer. Stress city!

LRNM · 05-11-2020 6:55pm

I know it's a bit late in the year now but if anybody wants to know what it's like to be a covid swabber then I can answer some questions. I've been swabbing since March. Albeit in a redeployment role and not the same compain as this one.

Did they say where you are going to be working in? Is it just static testing centres i.e drive through ones? Wondering if any of ye will be working alongside us soon.

Best of luck all and fair play for volunteering to do it.

Rickwellwood · 06-11-2020 12:03pm

Hi LRNM ... Ive an offer but no job contract. Afaik I'll be based in a drive thru centre but no further info from HBS/HSE yet. BTW I don't have a healthcare background. A few questions for you... What is the liklihood of getting puked on while swabbing someone ? Is there much abuse of the swabbers in drive in centres? Is there plenty of security around? Or is it a fairly chilled working environment? What is the training consisting of? Is there a target number of tests each swabber has to do per hr or per day.? What are the shift hours?
Thanks for help.

LRNM · 06-11-2020 1:16pm

Rickwellwood wrote: »

Hi LRNM ... Ive an offer but no job contract. Afaik I'll be based in a drive thru centre but no further info from HBS/HSE yet.

Congrats. Disclaimer. I work redeployment in pop up centres and community swabbing. So things will be a bit different for you in a drive thru.
It's an interesting role, and with time you'll feel proud to have stepped up and be doing such a frontline role.

What is the liklihood of getting puked on while swabbing someone ?

Out of the thousands of swabs we've done I've never seen anybody puke.

Most gag. A lot will cough and splutter all over you. But you'll be wearing full PPE and a face shield.
The odd nose bleed and 1 person fainted but this is usually down to severe anxiety.

Is there much abuse of the swabbers in drive in centres?. Is there plenty of security around? Or is it a fairly chilled working environment?

Abuse is rare. At worst is people swearing. I've had a couple of people grab my hand while im inserting it in their nose out of fright. Few hard heads will say things like "take it easy okay, im fúcking nervous" etc. But never anything bad. some people will not sit still and will pull away from you etc making it difficult or scream.

No security. It's a fairly chill environment overall and most people nervously joke and have a laugh with you and then scream and scowl and move on. I don't blame them tbh it's only human.

What is the training consisting of? Is there a target number of tests each swabber has to do per hr or per day.? What are the shift hours?

My training was a 1 day redeployment thing. Basically we watched some videos, had a powerpoint or two, then were shown the swab kits and demonstrated it. Then we all had to swab each other

YMMV as you're going into it from a non medical background and I don't know how much they'll want to do with you.
When I did it this was back in march and we hadn't a clue what we were going into. They wanted us trained and out ASAP.

The target is just the amount that show up.
In the factories when there's a large queue forming you can do maybe 1 swab every 2 minutes. But in a drive thru I imagine the pace will be a lot slower.

Shifts...Can't comment on that one as I'm only doing pop up sites. We show up, swab the place, and are generally in an out in 5-6 hours. I'd imagine you'd be doing 8-10 hour shifts. Hopefully shorter as I find it quite tiring work.

Make sure you stay hydrated.

Gael23 wrote: »

Why on earth would you want to put your life in danger to do these jobs?

Just to weigh in on this. No swabber that I'm aware of has ever contracted covid. You'll be in full PPE and adhering to strict hygiene standards.

Jezzabelle · 06-11-2020 5:39pm

pegdrums wrote: »

Had my interview this morning. 2 people interviewing, one lady asking questions and a man taking notes. He had his video off so I pretty much forgot about him.

As everyone else has previously said the interview was a fairly pleasant experience. As far as an online interview could be.

They asked me for an example of team skill and professional competence. I had 2 examples ready for each of the 5 areas and would recommend the same. Didn't get cut off during an answer as she said she might do if she needed to.

Lots of scenario based stuff, such as:

What would you do if a child with autism presents for a swab?
What would you do if a person with a strong gag reflex vomitted on you?
What would you do if a person absolutely refused to receive their swabbing?
What would you do if a swagger on your shift who had been in the role since February was being to rude to members of the public/ cutting corners or not carrying out their task properly?

How would you feel about ....standing in the cold all day/ wearing PPE all day/ changing locations from time to time

One tip I would give; she asked me at the end if I had anything else I'd like to add/ mention.....I said no and just went straight to asking them questions. As soon as it was finished I realised I could have squeezed in an example of the admin aspect of my current job. Ah well.]

Hope that's of help to some people.

Hi, thanks for that. Very helpful! I have an interview on Monday. As a matter of interest in relation to autism or people refusing - you cannot physically make someone take a test so i assume you would just do your best to treat people sensitively and encourage them to comply where possible?

Can I ask what are the 5 competencies you refer to? Are these listed somewhere?
Others mentioned they got an email with details to help prepare for the interview but I didnt get this. I'd applied for this so long ago now I thought I had missed out so I was surprised to receive the email today.
Thanks in advance

pegdrums · 09-11-2020 12:42am

Hey sorry just saw this now. The 5 areas were team work, commitment to providing a quality service, professional competence, planning/ organisational skills, communication/ interpersonal skills. The main 3 you are likely to be asked about are the first 3 in that list. I had 2 examples for all 5 ready.

In terms of the scenario based questions I basically stated that showing patience, empathy and understanding were ways that I would deal with various scenarios.

For anything really tricky like the example of the autistic child or a person who simply refused to have the procedure done to them I said I would refer to a superior colleague or failing that a more experienced colleague.

Sorry, its a bit late but hopefully you'll have a chance to see this before your interview. Best of luck with it. They were very nice to deal with.

Jezzabelle · 09-11-2020 3:02pm

pegdrums wrote: »

Hey sorry just saw this now. The 5 areas were team work, commitment to providing a quality service, professional competence, planning/ organisational skills, communication/ interpersonal skills. The main 3 you are likely to be asked about are the first 3 in that list. I had 2 examples for all 5 ready.

In terms of the scenario based questions I basically stated that showing patience, empathy and understanding were ways that I would deal with various scenarios.

For anything really tricky like the example of the autistic child or a person who simply refused to have the procedure done to them I said I would refer to a superior colleague or failing that a more experienced colleague.

Sorry, its a bit late but hopefully you'll have a chance to see this before your interview. Best of luck with it. They were very nice to deal with.

Thanks Pegdrums, I didn't see this before the interview but I think it went OK anyway. I managed to find the original job spec which had the competencies listed - it was so long ago that I applied I'd forgotten where to look!

In relation to the scenario based questions I answered largely in line with what you said - communication, understanding, empathy is key.

Thought they were v nice to deal with too. I was a bit nervous beforehand but all in all happy enough with how it went

Thanks again and good luck!

pegdrums · 09-11-2020 3:08pm

Ah glad to hear it went well. The scary bit is done, you can relax now!

condubh · 13-11-2020 1:25am

Contract signed, I’m starting next week

dercunx · 13-11-2020 1:38am

Congrats. I got job offer last Wednesday. Still waiting to hear back from them. What day did you get the job offer?

pegdrums · 13-11-2020 9:53am

condubh wrote: »

Contract signed, I’m starting next week

Congratulations!

Im also curious as to when you got the job offer and if you had to jump through the various hoops on offer.

I signed the contract on the 4th Nov. Only got the full Garda vetting form yesterday and had to get blood tests done

still no start date.

condubh · 13-11-2020 6:25pm

I got the job offer last Wednesday, the day after my vetting came through clear. HBS rang me up on Monday then to give me the start date.

Occupational health had me worried a bit. I have proof of Hep B vaccines but don’t have anything else so I just ticked no on the form and explained. That was good enough for them apparently, they haven’t asked me to get any records or get a blood test.

pegdrums · 13-11-2020 8:04pm

condubh wrote: »

they haven’t asked me to get a for any records or get a blood test.

That's gas, I've been sent for blood tests and got a call from the doc today booking me in for a hep B vaccine!

CPL cover all the costs

condubh · 14-11-2020 4:12am

pegdrums wrote: »

That's gas, I've been sent for blood tests and got a call from the doc today booking me in for a hep B vaccine!

CPL cover all the costs

Weird. They could ask me yet. Maybe they just needed people urgent at my centre.

Cassius99 · 17-11-2020 12:04pm

I know that people are receiving offers for Community Testing roles at the moment and I would like to get your opinions.

A relation of mine is in the running for the role, but has a somewhat stable job at the moment. They are beginning to wonder is it still worth going for the job, as they are worried that the 6 month probationary period will be used as an excuse to lay them off if positive test numbers keep somewhat static? Is that possible, or even likely?

pegdrums · 17-11-2020 12:18pm

I actually asked in my interview what would happen when demand for testers drops. I was told that as it was a 12 month contract we would be re-assigned for the remainder of our contract.

that's all I can offer Im afraid.

pegdrums · 17-11-2020 3:40pm

I have finally been successful in submitting my Garda vetting form. It kept getting sent back cos of his I was filling out the period I was travelling for.

How long has it taken some of ye to come back from the Garda as approved or whatever?

Rickwellwood · 17-11-2020 6:37pm

HI Folks...it took garda vetting about a week from submitting it to getting an email back saying " a disclosure had been made to the HSE" which is their roundabout way of saying that the vetting is done also the garda vetting site doesnt let you know what their disclosure says specifically.
In same boat re. somewhat stable work / taking the swabber job. Offer received, contract signed, my start date put back three weeks as apparently "test centre is only taking specific number of tests per day/week" and "will be in contact if any changes to this" ... not getting too excited tbh have spent a lot of time and effort giving them all the docs required as I'm sure everyone else has too.

pegdrums · 18-11-2020 9:57am

Rickwellwood wrote: »

my start date put back three weeks as apparently "test centre is only taking specific number of tests per day/week" and "will be in contact if any changes to this" ... not getting too excited tbh have spent a lot of time and effort giving them all the docs required as I'm sure everyone else has too.

So hang on, they gave you a start date and then put it back? that's nonsense! That kind of carry on can leave people out of work. If that had been me I would have handed in my notice to my current employer (who has said I only need to give a weeks notice) and then I'd be out of work indefinitely according to them.
Hope they get you going soon. As you said there's a lot of monkeying around to get them everything they wanted.

What band were you?

condubh · 18-11-2020 6:34pm

I’ve had my start date pushed back as well. They just said they’re not running the training this week so I’ll ‘maybe’ get started next week.

Rickwellwood · 18-11-2020 6:34pm

Hi folks ..... Its not ideal for sure and I should have also stated in my previous post that the email I got putting the start date back said " start dates are subject to change" so I've not given anyone any notice thankfully. Basically with this carry on in mind my way forward now on this is to take annual leave for around the few days that I "start" and see how it goes. If its a disaster then I walk away quietly back to my other job. If not then I've another decision to make. I was in Band A.
So in general if returning doctors and nurses and clinical staff were having to go through this same type of hiring scenario and being strung along, bet they wished they'd stayed in Oz or wherever.
As I said in my previous post too, I'm not getting too excited on this but I know I'd probably like the work, if it happens.

beenhad · 18-11-2020 7:14pm

Ah that's awful, having the date pushed back! I started 3 weeks ago. Staff are lovely and most of them heading back to where they were redeployed from. Very chilled environment I have to say. Tests are down at the moment so they don't need as many swabbers. However cases going up so I'd say you'll be called fairly soon. Thank God you didn't hand your notice in. I think they should bloody pay you if you had done that. Good luck!

condubh · 24-11-2020 9:56pm

So now I have no idea when my start date is. Very frustrating.

Rickwellwood · 25-11-2020 5:55pm

Yeah its really frustrating definitely. While I have been given a start date a few weeks down the line however based on their "start dates subject to change" I'm still really apprehensive in doing anything notice wise as regards my current job. HSE/HBS could send me an email from some arbitrary email address the day before I'm supposed to start, like what has already happened per my previous post, saying the start date is changed using some auld excuse then I'd be rightly screwed

Naomif · 27-11-2020 4:50pm

condubh wrote: »

So now I have no idea when my start date is. Very frustrating.

Did your position get pulled too after the change in start dates?

condubh · 29-11-2020 10:47pm

Naomif wrote: »

Did your position get pulled too after the change in start dates?

They got back to me with a new start date for this week

Naomif · 02-12-2020 12:08pm

condubh wrote: »

They got back to me with a new start date for this week

That's great. My start date was pushed out and then they closed the job. Very disappointing.
Best of luck

condubh · 03-12-2020 10:36pm

Naomif wrote: »

That's great. My start date was pushed out and then they closed the job. Very disappointing.
Best of luck

Oh jeez. Can they do that? Did you sign a contract?

pegdrums · 09-12-2020 4:07pm

Just a quick question for ye.

I'm currently;y working through the online training stuff they asked us to do. How long did it take ye to do it all?

I've been at it 6 hours now.

Rickwellwood · 09-12-2020 5:52pm

It took me 10 hours to do them all --- its normal apparently

pegdrums · 09-12-2020 6:29pm

Christ. I'm doing as much of the reading as possible but some one of the documents is 100 pages long.....did you read the whole thing?

Some of the video links are duplicated and I'm watching all of them and taking notes.

Plus the system keeps logging me out and I have to reset password and stuff.....finished the children first section, over 2hrs. it was marked as complete and when I came back later it was marked not started!

Rickwellwood · 09-12-2020 6:50pm

tbh i didnt read all the long documents I just kept clicking "next" on the presentation/slideshow to try to get to the assessment at the very end of each of the modules, once the main tasks in the presentation/slideshow were completed, if that help any.
They admit themselves that the hseland site can be erratic and from experience its seems more likely to kick you out if the internet connection is patchy.
Hope that helps.

GalwayGrrrrrl · 09-12-2020 9:31pm

For these statutory HSE land courses you just need to pass and you can retake the exam at the end if you don’t pass. I did children’s first at work recently (I work for HSE in a different role) and it took me less than one hour. Don’t do any of the extra reading, just keep clicking through. The main aim is that you know your reporting responsibilities. Don’t get too bogged down in it. You have to retake these courses every couple of years so make life easy on yourself.

pegdrums · 10-12-2020 2:12am

Cheers all. Done now. I think I started off trying to absorb AALLLL the detail which slowed me down a lot. Then i just kept going with whatever was in my learner record and not checking with the list they sent out in the email. Just checked the certificates section and I've 15 in there. I'm thinking I did one or two I didn't need to by accident/ sheer panic to make sure they were done before classroom training.

Do they give ya more stuff to do after the classroom training or is that all covered in the class?

HSE Covid Swabbing roles

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