Dublin's Mater Hospital is to introduce a pre-assessment unit to screen patients before they undergo surgery.
This means that patients will not take up hospital beds for pre-operation procedures, such as blood tests, ECGs and X-rays.
The unit will be up and running within weeks. It will be used selectively and will not necessarily mean an increase in hospital visits for patients.
If someone is scheduled to see a consultant before an operation, then the pre-assessment will be scheduled for the same day.
The hospital was embroiled in controversy earlier this week, following the hospital board's decision to close 115 beds before May because of a predicted budgetary shortfall of €18.2 million.
A hospital spokesman stressed that the pre-assessment unit was not a knee-jerk reaction to the funding crisis. Plans for the unit were being developed for some time and were part of an ongoing drive for more efficiency.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, questioned the need for the bed closures this week and said the hospital was receiving a 9 per cent increase in funding for this year.
The hospital spokesman said this did not reflect the reality of the situation. The hospital had received total funding of €155.2 million last year and the same had been agreed for this year. He said the hospital's original 2002 budget had been increased by 9 per cent last year because of the increase in the number of procedures performed. This year's allocation did not take into account issues such as inflation, or increased patient demand, he said.
He rejected Mr Martin's claim that the hospital had "very significant deficits". It had a cumulative operational deficit of 2 per cent, or €6.5 million, over the past two years. The hospital needed an extra €12 million just to stand still. Otherwise, it was facing an €18.2 million deficit. The Minister has requested a report from the ERHA on the matter.
