EHRA denies Children's Hospital cutback claims

The EHRA has denied claims that services at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin are facing cutbacks because of a €3 million funding shortfall.

Labour’s health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, today circulated an internal memo from the hospital’s financial controller, Mr Terry Kiely, which says the hospital will have to make cutbacks because of lowered EHRA funding.

"As the Eastern Regional Health Authority has stated there will be no increase in funding forthcoming during the second half of the year, we are now left with no option but to make significant reductions in expenditure...in view of the scale of the deficit it is inevitable that some services will be affected," it reads.

It also says management and administration posts will not be filled and a temporary ban will be placed on recruitment in a bid to cut employment costs which eat up 75 per cent of the hospital’s budget.

However, the EHRA said in a statement this evening that it has no intentions of cutting expenditure.

It said it has sufficient funds available to buy hospital services at the same level as last year, and has agreed to spend €72.6 million this year. Last year the EHRA spent €69 million at Crumlin, of which €6.5 million was once-off expenditure.

"We are engaged in on going dialogue with the hospital and they are co-operating fully in identifying measures to reduce support costs and to identify efficiencies which do not affect front line services," the statement added.

Ms McManus said Crumlin Hospital has a waiting list of more than 1,000 children, many of which are waiting over six months for treatment.

She called on the Minister for Health Martin to state if hospital services for children are going to be affected by cutbacks in the health service - despite promises that no cutbacks, secret or otherwise would be made on health spending.