Five hospitals run up €65m in combined overspending

OVERRUNS:FIVE HOSPITALS have a combined overrun of almost €65 million, the latest Health Service Executive performance report has shown.

The biggest overspend was at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, which was €17.9 million over budget by the end of July, the report found.

The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle, Limerick, was over by €14 million, Cork University Hospital had a €10 million overrun, University College Hospital Galway was over by €11.9 million, while the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, was €10.3 million over.

The largest percentage overrun was at Louth County Hospital, at 67 per cent or €4.6 million.

Minister for Health James Reilly last night defended the increase in outpatient waiting times contained in the report.

It showed almost 340,000 patients were waiting for a first consultant outpatient appointment at the end of July. This is an increase of more than a third on figures released in April.

Dr Reilly said the figure did not reflect an increase in waiting, but reflected “for the first time” more accurate figures on people waiting for outpatient appointment.

“We never knew what the number was before – we had only some of the hospitals counted last April.

“I welcome the fact that for the first time we have an accurate figure. For the first time we know the size of the problem,” he said.

More than 16,000 people on a waiting list for four years was a “disgrace,” he said, adding that by the end of next year “we will have nobody waiting longer than a year”. The numbers waiting over a year for outpatient appointment had fallen by 85 per cent since the Government took office, he told RTÉ news last night.

Two-thirds of patients were waiting less than a year from the referral date for an outpatient appointment. The largest outpatient waiting list in the State was at the Galway Hospital group at 21,089, followed by Waterford Regional Hospital at 20,945.

Other large waiting lists were at Mid-Western Regional Hospital Limerick (14,263), Cork South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital (5,784), and Tallaght hospital (5,115).

About 5 per cent, or 16,667, had been waiting more than four years for an appointment.

More than 20 hospitals had an absenteeism rate over 6 per cent.

The highest level was at Louth Orthopaedic Hospital at 7.53 per cent. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, had an absenteeism rate of 7.42 per cent, while Roscommon County Hospital and North Tipperary Local Health Office both had absenteeism rates of 7.33 per cent.

The latest report shows an expenditure deficit of €329 million to the end of August, up from €254 million at the end of July.

“We have a duty to bring our overall budget in the HSE in on target and we are going to do that,” Dr Reilly said.