THE INCREASE in health spending in the Republic will be negligible next year compared with recent years, Minister for Health Mary Harney has warned. She also warned that 2009 will be a "very, very challenging" one financially for the health services.
Her comments came as it emerged further cuts in frontline health services are being imposed by a number of HSE hospitals in coming weeks in an attempt to stay within budget this year.
The HSE had recorded a deficit of about €200 million up to the end of August.
Staff at Monaghan and Cavan General Hospitals have received a memo from management saying all outpatient clinics, endoscopies to diagnose a range of conditions including cancers, elective surgery and day services will be closed for two weeks from October 27th to November 7th and for three weeks from December 20th to January 9th.
A medical source in one of the hospitals criticised the move saying there had been no consultation with staff about the cuts. The medic pointed out that cutting endoscopy sessions could lead to patients receiving a delayed diagnosis and treatment.
Furthermore, the doctor indicated the latest cuts come on top of a curtailment of other elective work in the region in January and August.
Meanwhile, management at Letterkenny General Hospital has decided to close the hospital's short-stay ward and temporary staff have been put on notice that their contracts are unlikely to be renewed.
The three unions representing the majority of workers at the hospital - the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), Siptu and Impact - have launched a joint campaign to oppose cuts. They say there is speculation other core services are close to being axed yet the HSE is saying nothing. A meeting of members of the three unions will take place next Monday in the hospital to discuss a strategy to defend services at the hospital.
The HSE Northeast confirmed in a statement that it, along with other HSE regions, was examining ways in which it could contain costs without interfering as far as is possible with frontline services. It said contingency plans regarding planned closures would be put in place over the next few weeks.
"During any planned closures all emergency cases will be dealt with both from an outpatient and inpatient perspective. It should be noted the endoscopy waiting list at Cavan/ Monaghan is currently one of the lowest in the country.
"Surgical waiting lists are similar with all inpatients and outpatients being dealt with within a three-month period from initial referral," it said.
Meanwhile, Ms Harney refused yesterday to discount speculation that the Government was considering, in the context of the upcoming budget, bringing to an end the automatic entitlement to a medical card to all citizens once they reach the age of 70 years.
"I'm not going to rule anything in or anything out. Everything is being looked at at the moment," she said.
Asked about the health budget for next year, she said: "I can tell you for certain that the rate of increase in health spending will be negligible in comparison with any other year in the past 11 years." She was speaking to reporters in Dublin after attending the publication of a book on nursing and midwifery in Ireland.