Hospital services to be scaled down

Outgoing HSE CEO Prof Brendan Drumm has said warned that smaller hospitals may have to stop operating on a 24-hour basis.

Prof Drumm, who steps down next month, said it would be very difficult to make the expected €600 million in health cuts next year without affecting services but it would be possible if significant changes were made to how services were run.

Speaking on This Week on RTÉ Radio yesterday, he said there was no justification for having four hospitals open everynight for 300,000 people in Galway and Roscommon.

He said, however, that planned cuts to respite care services would not  be introduced.

Cathal Magee is due to take over from Prof Drumm as head of the HSE on September 1.

The HSE's budget is expected to be cut by around €600 million in 2011, following a cut of €1.2 billion this year, and Health Minister Mary Harney has already warned that this will have serious consequences for services.

The planned new national children's hospital at the Mater site in Dublin is not expected face the axe in the Government's revised capital programme, which is is to be published today. However, other health building projects are likely to be hit.

The children's hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2014, will cost €750 million to build.

However, only €400 million of this is coming from Exchequer funding, with the remainder being raised through sources such as private/philanthropic donations and revenue from car-parking and commercial and retail outlets in the hospital.

Meanwhile, SIPTU has said it will ballot on strike action over a HSE plan to cut hundreds of temporary health service contract jobs in the west.

[Posted: Mon 26/07/2010]