CUTS OF almost €50 million in the health service across the western seaboard will have to be imposed by the year end, HSE West senior management has said.
There is “no question” of carrying an overrun into next year when there could be further budget reductions of €600 million to €700 million nationally, HSE West regional director of operations John Hennessy warned.
However, serious efforts will be made to recoup €10 million owed to HSE West by private health insurers for more than a year, he told yesterday’s HSE West regional health forum at Merlin Park Hospital, Galway.
Councillors from nine counties stretching from Limerick to Donegal were told that €12 million would be saved every month from now until the end of the year by cutting temporary staff by 7,000 hours per week.
Further measures would include controlling a €5 million annual absenteeism and sick leave bill and redeploying corporate and support staff from headquarters to hospitals, as part of the €12 million monthly savings, Mr Hennessy said.
HSE West had started the year with a projected €130 million deficit, part of which was a “carry over” from 2009. It had reduced this incrementally to a projected deficit of €49.5 million by the end of August, he said.
The focus would be on ensuring “safety and quality”, Mr Hennessy said, but he also told councillors that “if we can’t provide the service safely, we won’t provide the service”.
Outlining management’s approach in the five regions that constitute HSE West, Mr Hennessy said about one-third of patients in hospitals did not need in-patient beds, and savings could be made in this area.
Management was working with unions, the Labour Relations Commission and “most recently, the Labour Court” on reducing temporary staff numbers, he said, and absenteeism was too high.
“It would be incorrect for me to say that this [the savings] can be achieved without impacting on patients, but the aim is to reduce this to the minimum,” he said, in response to questions from councillors.
Patients in frontline services and receiving home help would be affected “as a last resort”, he said.
But this was disputed by several local authority representatives, with Roscommon councillor Tony Ward (Ind) saying that he did not accept that homecare packages and home help hours were being provided efficiently. “You could save money if you put it into homecare packages and home help in Co Roscommon.”
Cllr Imelda Henry (FG) confirmed with Mr Hennessy that Sligo General Hospital was facing a €3.1 million deficit to the end of the year, and described it as “very disturbing and distressing”.
Mr Hennessy told members that all areas would be affected. “If one area overspends, it will impact on other areas of the service,” he warned.
Galway county councillor Colm Keaveney (Lab) said that he calculated the savings of 7,000 hours in temporary staff weekly amounted to 180 jobs.
Asked by Mr Keaveney to outline money owed by private health insurers, Mr Hennessy said that some €42 million was owed, but €32 million of this was credited into, or allowed for, in the accounts. Some €10 million of this had been owed for over a year, he said, and this had not been credited. This €10 million debt was being pursued “seriously”.
Asked by Mr Keaveney to outline the cost of the moratorium on staff recruitment imposed nationally, Francis Rogers, HSE West assistant national director for human resources, said that overtime had cost €34.7 million to the end of August this year, which was a reduction of €3.6 million on the same period last year.
The annual overtime bill was between €51 million and €52 million, and about 2 per cent of this, at almost €1 million, was due to the moratorium, he said.
Dr David O’Keeffe, HSE West clinical director for acute services and continuing care in Galway/Roscommon said that some savings had been identified by moving private patients into private hospitals, where the cost of drugs could be recouped from insurers.
Only “hotel” rather than drugs costs could be recouped from insurers for private patients in public hospitals, he said. He confirmed that no service level agreement was in place for this.
The controversy over health cuts in the west came into sharp focus last week when Independent TD for Galway West Noel Grealish, who is not a member of the forum, said he could no longer support the Government until the issue had been clarified.
Mr Grealish said he came to his decision after he was told implementation of a €19.7 million budget cut in Galway could not be implemented without a risk to patient safety.
Meanwhile, the trade union Siptu last night described the cutbacks to home help services in Co Mayo as "brutal", writes Martin Wall.
Siptu organiser Paul Bell said that it understood that €500,000 was being withdrawn from the home help budget in the county.
He said this would result in care hours being curtailed for patients.
He also said that a time-and-motion study was being carried out which would allocate specific timescales for types of care such as helping people to have a bath.
Siptu is to hold a meeting of home help staff in the county next Tuesday “to consider an appropriate response” to the HSE plans.
HEALTH WARNING HSE WEST BUDGET CUTS
€49.5m
The savings to be made by the end of the year in nine western counties.
€10m
Owed for over a year to HSE West by private health insurers.
€5m
Annual bill for absenteeism and sick leave to be “controlled”.
‘MINIMISED’
Impact on front-line
hospital services to be “minimised”.
7,000
Savings in hours a week
in using temporary staff.
180
The equivalent in jobs.
