HOSPITAL OVER-SPEND MAY PUT PATIENTS AT RISK

THE HSE has warned that efforts to meet a €2.3 million shortfall in University Hospital Kerry’s budget could result in cuts to services and risks to patient safety at the hospital.

The revelation came as Kerry TD John Brassil (FF) quizzed Junior Minister Finian McGrath in the Dáil on the financial situation at the hospital in Tralee.

Deputy Brassil had previously raised concerns over a €5.6 million shortfall in the hospital’s 2017 budget.

He told the Dáil that the HSE had informed him that the primary cause of the budget shortfall was the cost of temporary locum consultants, doctors, nurses and care assistants who have been hired on a temporary basis from various agencies.

According to Deputy Brassil the HSE told him that efforts to meet the multi-million Euro shortfall would require spending cuts.

Deputy Brassil said the HSE had warned him that these cuts “would clearly have a significant effect on service delivery and potentially could give rise to significant clinical risk.”

The Kerry TD said he found this admission particularly troubling.

“It is extremely concerning when the HSE replies to a parliamentary question and itself flags a potential significant clinical risk to the operation of the hospital” said Deputy Brassil.

“We know the issues hospitals such as UHK face in regard to recruitment. When one has an over-reliance on agency staff, in particular agency consultant staff, agency non-consultant hospital doctors and agency nurses, sometimes costing in excess of five times what it would cost for staff under a standard recruitment process, the hospital in question will run into difficulties,” Deputy Brassil said.

In reply Minister McGrath said that as part of the move to ‘activity based funding’ – which sees hospitals funded on the basis of actual activity rather than via annual block grants – UHK has been allocated an additional €3.3 million this year.

Minister McGrtath said that the remaining €2.3 million shortfall would have to be met by the hospital and the HSE South/South West Hospital Group.

Deputy Brassil said he was in favour of the move to an activity-based funding model but he asked that provision be made to help UHK meet its budget shortfall during the transition period.

“I hope there is not a significant clinical risk, but if one is dealing with a shortfall of €2.3 million, I do not see any other outcome,” he said.

“We have to get staffing up to a level that allows the hospital to function and does not cripple it with agency costs which result in overruns,” he said.