Beds to be 'ringfenced' for operations

Hospitals are to have beds designated for surgical procedures only in order to prevent operations being cancelled, Health Minister Mary Harney has said.

The Minister also said the new deal between the Government and public service unions would provide for better access to health services.

She told the Select Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children that as part of a new HSE plan currently being examined, beds would be "ring-fenced" in hospitals for surgical procedures only.

Often in hospitals, operations have to be cancelled when surgical beds are taken up by emergency admissions.

The Minister said the ring-fencing plan was an initiative being developed by Dr Barry White, the HSE's recently-appointed Director of Quality and Clinical Care, who is developing new care "pathways" between hospitals and community services across the disease spectrum.

The Minister said Dr White was also looking at the issue of access to outpatient clinics.

She admitted that hospitals would have have to survive on less this year.  While a large part of the reduction in hospital budgets would be accounted for by cuts in staff pay, not all of the savings would be in the pay area.

The Minister said the new agreement between the Government and public service unions would have a major impact on health services, particularly in terms of better access to diagnostic tests through reducing the cost of out-of-hours radiography.

She said the impact of introducing an 8am to 8am core working day, as opposed to a nine to five system, should not be underestimated.

The Minister also said the new consultant contract will provide for "one for all" access to outpatients and diagnostics in public hospitals. "There will be no more Susie Longs."

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said he found it difficult to understand how the HSE was going to cut hospital emergency department admissions by 33,000 and how the system, which was currently under severe pressure, was going to cope with 1,100 fewer beds this year.

The Minister said the new Fair Deal scheme would provide for more nursing home places and this would free up hospital beds by reducing the number of delayed discharge patients.

The Minister said it was her understanding that Prof Tom Keane withdrew his candidacy for the HSE CEO post for personal and family reasons.

She said she hoped to have the results of a HSE audit on the x-ray reporting and referral letter situation in hospitals other than Tallaght within the next few days.

Ms Harney attended the Oireachtas Committee after having faced severe criticism from a studio audience on RTE's The Frontline programme over her running of the health service over the past five-and-a-half years.

On the programme, the Minister defended her record and said major improvements had been made, particularly in cancer services, with Ireland moving from 29th to 13th in an EU health service league table in recent years.

The Minister was challenged on her pledge when taking office in 2004 to sort out the A&E crisis within months.

She admitted that there were still difficulties with A&E overcrowding in six or seven hospitals, and the HSE was addressing these problems.

The Minister said figures to be published shortly would show survival rates for cancer were improving.

[Posted: Wed 31/03/2010]