THE HEALTH Service Executive is carrying out an assessment of the level of savings that could be generated by scaling back the operation of the emergency department at Connolly Hospital in Dublin to daytime only.
In a statement yesterday, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins and local councillor Ruth Coppinger said they had received confidential information the executive was looking at the cost of running an 8am-8pm emergency service.
The executive in Dublin/North East said last night that management at Connolly Hospital was “examining all options to ensure they remain within budget by year end”.
The executive said there was “no plan to change the role and function of the emergency department at Connolly Hospital”.
Informed sources said before any such scaling back of the emergency service could be introduced, it would have to be discussed by the executive and the Department of Health, and consideration would have to be given as to where patients currently treated in the emergency department at Connolly Hospital at night-time would go.
In its statement, the HSE Dublin/North East said it had to comply with its statutory obligations and remain within its allocated budget.
“Every effort will be made to do that in a way that has the least impact on patients and clients.”
The Socialist Party said that if the executive was allowed to downgrade the emergency department to an 8am-8pm AE service, “the entire hospital would effectively be downgraded”.
It said huge pressure would also be placed on other Dublin hospitals which were already under strain.
“Savage cuts in the order of €20 million have taken place in the hospital’s budgets in recent years. This is in the context of a greatly increased population in greater Blanchardstown and the wider catchment.
“Wards and beds have been closed. Nothing more can be skimmed.”
Connolly hospital is facing a potential financial deficit of more than €10 million for the year.
The Irish Times reported last week that executive managers had been warned they would have to pay personally for any spending on recruiting agency staff and overtime at the hospital which exceeded a strict new monthly cap of €500,000.
Separately, trade union Siptu has written to the executive seeking clarification of the situation regarding the payment of wages to staff at most of the State’s major acute hospitals as a matter of urgency.
The threat to payments arose following an internal memorandum to staff in St Luke’s hospital in Kilkenny last week.
