SAVINGS OF €103 million will have to be made across the Health Service Executive’s four regions before the end of the year if it is to balance its budget, new financial data from the executive shows.
The HSE’s latest monthly performance report shows, however, that its overall financial position has improved over the past few months. In May it had an overall deficit of €84 million but by the end of July – the latest figures – its deficit was down to €35.2 million.
The deficits in different sectors of the HSE, such as the hospital sector, are much higher than this but are compensated for by surpluses in other areas.
HSE staff numbers dropped by 154 in July, and by 525 in the first seven months of the year. The report says 966 hospital beds were closed at the end of July.
In the hospital sector the deficit at the end of July was €109 million, with the biggest deficits being recorded at Galway’s University College Hospital and Limerick Regional Hospital, which were €14.7 million and €12 million over-budget respectively.
Beaumont Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda were both €7 million over budget, and Tallaght Hospital was €6.4 million over.
The report says the HSE’s West region – where there have been fears a hospital closure could be on the cards to rein in spending – continues to present the largest deficit. It had a deficit of €45 million at the end of July, while the HSE Dublin/Northeast region had a deficit of €42 million.
“The west has shown improvement in spend rates in July with an underlying reduction of €6 million on a monthly basis. It is necessary for the west to continue to pursue further cost-reduction measures to achieve a maintainable spend level by year-end,” the report says. “The actions under way and proposed in the west and northeast are essential to achieving a balanced position at year-end.”
The deficits in the other two HSE regions are HSE South (€22 million) and HSE Dublin/Mid-Leinster (€31 million).
Meanwhile, the report indicates there has been significant underspending on capital projects so far this year. It says the underspend on the capital budget at the end of August was €41.4 million, but “the objective is to fully expend the capital programme”.
There was also a €27 million underspend at the end of July on medical cards and community schemes.
Home-help spending is also behind what would have been expected. Home-help hours were “6.4 per cent below service plan target” at the end of July, which means they have been cut more dramatically than had been planned at the beginning of the year.
The cuts have been most severe in the west, where home-help hours are 11.2 per cent below target. The report says, however, that home-help hours will be increased during the remainder of the year “to ensure agreed service plan targets for 2010 are met”.
The report goes on to caution that €50 million which it expected to get from the sale of lands in the mental health area, to fund services in this sector, may not be achieved due to the current state of the property market. However, it envisages there will be sufficient funding for the Fair Deal nursing home-support scheme this year.
Since the scheme began in October last year, there have been 13,764 applications, and 68 per cent of these have been processed.
In relation to social workers, the report says 86 per cent of children in care had an allocated social worker in July.
It says the 200 social work posts promised following the publication of the Ryan report “are currently on track to be filled by year-end”.
HOSPITAL DEFICITS FIVE MOST SIGNIFICANT:
€14.7millionUniversity College Hospital, Galway
€12 millionLimerick Regional Hospital
€7.7 millionBeaumont Hospital
€7.1 millionOur Lady of Lourdes Hospital
€6.4 millionTallaght Hospital