The Health Service Executive (HSE) is set to spend more than €350,000 on branded merchandise including yoga mats, corporate umbrellas, organic T-shirts and baseball caps.
The agency also intends to purchase customised water bottles, reusable coffee cups, windbreaker jackets, and antibacterial pens as part of its efforts to promote the Healthy Ireland campaign.
Details of the planned expenditure follow reports that some nurses are having to rely on food banks in the absence of better pay, and key medical workers took part in industrial action this week over pay and retention issues.
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The health authority published a tender yesterday showing that it expects to spend €350,000 plus VAT on a wide range of branded merchandise bearing both the HSE and Healthy Ireland logos.
Companies awarded contracts for the supply of the items, which include organic cotton lunch bags and knitted hats with integrated head torches, will also be expected to warehouse and distribute the stock.
The Healthy Ireland framework was launched in 2013 to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the country. It was described as a direct response to increasing levels of chronic illness and negative lifestyle behaviours.
Other customised merchandise that will be produced for the campaign includes swim caps, polo shirts, cycling jerseys, and A5 notebooks. Branded lanyards and ID pull reels will also be required for staff.
The publication of the tender occurs against a background of disquiet among certain workers within the HSE over pay and conditions.
Earlier this month, the annual conference of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) heard that some nurses had been forced to rely on food banks as they struggled to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, hundreds of medical scientists took part in industrial action this week over pay and retention issues after negotiations with the HSE and Department of Health failed to address their concerns.
The action resulted in the withdrawal of routine laboratory services, scans and other tests from 8am to 8pm, affecting hospitals and GP surgeries across the country.
“Healthy Ireland wants people in Ireland to feel supported to make healthier choices in their day-to-day lives, in a health promoting and sustainable environment,” the tender states.
The successful contractor will also be required to process online orders for the merchandise from across the HSE system, and will be able to deliver the products to locations throughout the 26 counties.
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