Cost cuts closed one in six beds in children's hospital

Fifteen beds reopen after cost-cutting measures put them out of operation for summer period

ONE BED in six remained closed at the Children’s University Hospital in Temple Street over the summer because of a cost-containment programme.

The hospital has just reopened 15 beds which were closed temporarily for the summer but 10 more beds, which were shut last April, remain out of operation.

The beds, a mix of surgical and medical, were closed as part of a drive to cut costs at the hospital and bridge a €10 million deficit.

The hospital has a total of 145 beds.

The cutbacks prompted surgeons at the hospital to warn earlier this year that theatre closures were putting patients at risk. Confidential internal minutes revealed alarm among senior staff that cutbacks were placing surgeons in situations “inconsistent with safe surgical practice”.

The hospital maintained that management was working with staff to ensure there were no risks to patients and that the best possible care was being provided within the resources allocated.

HSE figures show that 357 outpatients who were seen at Temple Street in June had waited for three to six months. Some 219 patients had been waiting for six-12 months and 13 had been waiting one to two years. A total of 1,062 patients had been waiting to see a consultant for one to two years.

Spending at the hospital so far this year is running €2 million, or 6 per cent, over budget.

Temple Street, along with many other Dublin hospitals, is anxiously awaiting the Government’s decision on where to site the new national children’s hospital. The hospital is in partnership with the Mater and Rotunda hospitals to build the new facility on the Mater site in central Dublin.

The Mater was originally chosen as the location for the development but the rejection of the planning permission by An Bord Pleanála prompted a Government rethink and the competition was effectively thrown open once again.

Minister for Health James Reilly received the report of a review group which examined possible sites last June but a decision by Cabinet was deferred until after the summer. This is now expected shortly.

The contest is believed to have been whittled down to a choice between the Mater hospital, St James’s hospital and Connolly hospital sites.

Some observers have claimed the Connolly site in Blanchardstown is enjoying growing support due to the fact that it is a greenfield site which would involve fewer planning issues and allow for expansion in the future.