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The Minister for Health, Mr Martin
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The process of implementing contoversial cost savings in the Western Health Board (WHB) will be monitored the Department of Health and Children, it was announced this evening.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin called for this evening’s meeting last week after the WHB said it would be not be filling 200 job vacancies as previously intended. It said this was part of the cost-cutting measures demanded by the Department.
But the Minister said only 85 places would need to be sacrificed and today summoned the WHB chief executive officer, Dr Sheelah Ryan, to explain why she intended to hold back on 200 vacancies.
In a statement this evening, the Department reiterated that 85 posts would go unfilled in order to make savings of €1.15m. It said a process would be implemented to assist the WHB "bring overall expenditure within approved spending limits".
Dr Ryan caused public controversy and angered the Minister when she recently told board members that 200 jobs would have to go as part of the cost-cutting exercise.