Striking theatre staff at five of the country’s public hospitals have claimed the HSE is having to pay a multiple of the cost of settling their claim to hire in locum cover because it is losing employees to the private sector.More than a dozen elective cardiac operations were cancelled on Tuesday because of the action by perfusionists, specialist staff who operate the equipment that does the work of a person’s heart and lungs during heart transplants and some other major surgeries.The staff, who are members of Fórsa, are seeking the restoration of a link to the pay of some 2,000 medical scientists that was broken more than a year ago.They say the move would cost about €200,000 a year and claim it would effectively be self-financing because the HSE is currently losing staff to private hospitals that pay the rates they are seeking. Locum staff then have to be hired by the HSE through agencies at a substantial premium.“At Cork University Hospital, four of the eight perfusionists have left and the HR department there has signed a contract with a UK company to provide the services required to cover the shortfall,” said Rob Regan, head of perfusion at the National Cardiac Centre at the Mater Hospital.He said Galway University Hospital has also been paying out large sums to cover staff shortages.The one-day strike action, he said, went ahead on Tuesday because of a lack of engagement by the HSE despite the organisation saying it was keen to resolve the situation.“The only thing we heard from them in advance of this was to make sure there would be emergency cover, which we are providing,” he said.Senior Fórsa organiser Linda Kelly said the dispute had been the subject of a hearing at the Labour Court, which recommended the restoration of the link. She said the failure of the HSE to abide by such a recommendation is highly unusual. The HSE has said it does not have the required mandate from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to settle the dispute.Labour spokesperson on health Marie Sherlock, who joined the picket at the Mater on Tuesday morning, said the situation was “black and white, the Labour Court has said what their wages should be but they have been ignored by the HSE, the Minister and the Department of Health”.The Irish Patients’ Association, meanwhile, called on the Minister for Health to “personally intervene to ensure this matter is finalised without delay. A further 48-hour strike is threatened for June 16th and 17th. That is one week away”.”Cardiac surgery patients cannot continue to carry the burden of a dispute that has a known cost and a clear resolution.”The HSE was approached for comment.