Sir, - I am writing with reference to recent media articles in which it was stated that "savage cutbacks and restrictions in patient intake" were to be introduced at St Vincent's Hospital. I would like to make the following points in relation to these articles.
St Vincent's Hospital, like all other voluntary hospitals receives its yearly finance allocation from the Department of Health, and it is required to manage its financial affairs within that allocation. With improved information technology at St Vincent's and in the Department of Health, an accurate and detailed analysis of patient numbers and patient case mix is readily available. In discussions with Department of Health officials, before the allocation of finance for 1996 these officials expressed satisfaction at the numbers and case mix of patients treated in St Vincent's Hospital in 1995.
The 1996 financial allocation was made to St Vincent's Hospital on the clear understanding that it would treat similar numbers and case mix as had been approved for 1995. Funding was, therefore, allocated to each department within the hospital to allow for similar levels of activity during 1996 as had been approved in 1995. "Cutbacks" means a reduction from previously agreed levels of activity and this did not occur in relation to 1996 compared to 1995.
With the introduction of efficiency measures, through put of patients was improved in 1996 and, in the first eight months of this year, 9.5 per cent more elective patients were treated than for the similar period in 1995. This of course, caused a significant overrun in expenditure. There was, therefore, an urgent need to reduce the escalating over run in expenditure and a number of meetings look place to address this issue at which the hospital's chief executive officer, senior management and the executive committee of the Medical Board attended.
As a result of these meetings, a package of measures was agreed to bring levels of activity back to the approved 1995 levels in the remaining months of the year.
These measures led to the circulation of an internal memorandum exclusively for hospital staff.
Some aspects of the internal memorandum required further discussion and clarification and I would emphasise that elective work is continuing in all hospital departments.
Inpatient and outpatient work relating to patients from noncatchment areas continues to take place. There is no ban on consultants accepting patients from outside the hospital's catchment area. With sequential closing of beds, annual holiday leave has been easier to organise and renovation work has proceeded as in previous years. In fact, in late August and early September 1996 there were some vacant beds in the areas reserved for elective admissions.
In conclusion, I wish to state that St Vincent's Hospital has not introduced "savage cutbacks" as recent newspaper articles have claimed. It has simply introduced a series of minor measures to bring the 9.5 per cent increase in activity, which has occurred during the first eight months of 1996, back into line with the level of activity which had been approved in 1995 and for which funding had been made available by the Department of Health for 1996. - Yours, etc.,
Chairman, Medical Board.
St Vincent's Hospital,
Elm Park,
Dublin 4.