HSE cutbacks breach partnership deal - NIB

The National Implementation Body (NIB) has severely criticised the Health Service Executive (HSE) over the manner in which it imposed recent cutbacks designed to tackle a €245 million financial deficit.

In a statement today, the industrial relations body said the temporary ban on recruitment, imposed by the HSE earlier this month, as well as other cost-cutting measures, had been introduced without consultation and breached the latest social partnership agreement.

The NIB said it believed that the implementation of the plan was viewed by the HSE as requiring the suspension of all existing staffing and other operating agreements where necessary.

"The conduct of the HSE appeared to convey a policy of non-engagement with trade unions or compliance with the terms of Towards 2016and other established industrial relations procedures," it said.

As a consequence, the NIB claimed, the basis of partnership in the health service, especially seeking reform through the new Health Service Forum, was becoming "unsustainable".

Health service unions representing about 100,000 staff, have urged members not to co-operate with HSE plans and are considering work stoppages and public demonstrations in protest at the cutbacks.

Both the Minister for Health Mary Harney and the HSE's chief executive Brendan Drumm, who attended the official opening of Cork University Maternity Hospital today, said they did not accept that patient care would suffer as a result of the cutbacks.

Ms Harney said every organisation had to live within its budget.

"Each hospital manager had to plan the running of their hospitals based on that budget, as every organisation has to do. The health service is no different than any other organisation," she said.

She added that she didn't accept that patients were suffering because of the recruitment freeze.

Prof Drumm said the September recruitment ban only impacted between 200 and 300 people, out of total of 120,000 staff, which, he insisted, could not lead to any major reduction in services.

"There are many hospitals in the State that have provided services within their budgets but in other areas budgets have overrun and its only fair that we deal with that," he said.

The NIB said today it had been briefed by the HSE and the Department of Health and Children regarding the very serious financial situation that had developed in the health service, and "of the imperative both legally and operationally to take urgent and effective corrective action".

"Without making any adjudication in respect of compliance with the terms of Towards 2016, the NIB wishes to express its disappointment that the response to the financial situation has resulted in a marked absence of partnership and joint problem-solving," the NIB said.

The unions and health service management met NIB officials earlier this week in an attempt to resolve the row.

Siptu welcomed the NIB statement and said its members would be willing to enter talks at the Labour Relations Commission if necessary.

"We believe the proposals put forward by the HSE were reckless and ill thought-out. There is no doubt that patient care will suffer if the Plan is implemented in its present form," said the union's national nursing official, Louise O'Reilly.