THE STATE’s largest children’s hospital – Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin – has asked staff to consider taking unpaid leave this summer as it attempts to find ways of saving almost €6 million.
The hospital’s budget, like that of many other hospitals, has been cut significantly this year and a special cost-containment committee is considering ways to address the shortfall.
A senior medical source at the hospital confirmed staff were written to and asked if they would like to take unpaid leave during the summer. It was felt it might suit some of the overseas staff who would like to travel home or parents of children on school holidays. Those taking unpaid leave would be able to claim a tax rebate later.
Other cost-containment measures being looked at include eliminating overtime by ensuring theatre lists did not run over.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said the hospital had received an allocation of €137.9 million for 2009. “This is a decrease of €5.9 million or 4 per cent in the funding provided in 2008,” she said.
“The hospital is presently reviewing all its activity and expenditure and preparing a break-even plan for 2009 which will seek to protect, in as far as possible, services for its sickest children.
“In order to minimise the impact on children’s health services, one of the options being considered would be to reduce elective activity in the summer months.
“To assist in achieving this, the staff of the hospital are been asked for their voluntary expression of interest in relation to taking unpaid leave during that time. The effect of this on waiting times for patients, efficiency and cost savings will have to be fully assessed before this or other options would be implemented,” she added.
Other hospitals face similar difficulties as the Health Service Executive now anticipates having to achieve savings of €1.2 billion this year.
Last month, Dublin’s five main teaching hospitals were told their budgets were to be cut by almost €30 million, while the combined budgets of hospitals in the south are also to be cut by €30 million. Budgets of hospitals in the southeast have been cut by €15 million.
Meanwhile, in the west and northwest, hospital budgets have been slashed by more than €29 million. In the midwest, they are down by €13 million.
Dave Hughes, deputy general secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation, said the public would ask how banks could be granted in excess of €7 billion this year while overstretched health services were to be further dissipated by cuts of more than €1 billion.