HSE budget plan for 2010 published

Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney has today announced her approval of the HSE National Service Plan 2010, which outlines how the executive intends to spend its €14 billion budget this year.

The programme reveals the HSE's targets for hospital, community and primary care services and details how the executive plans to maintain access to appropriate treatments and services for patients and clients despite cutbacks.

The 2010 budget allocation includes an additional €230 million for demand-led schemes such as medical cards, €117 million for the Fair Deal nursing homes support scheme, €10 million for home care packages for older people and €20 million for the National Cancer Control Programme.

In addition, €14 million has been made available for the implementation of the Ryan report in line with the implementation plan published by the Minister for Children & Youth Affairs last year.

The plan also has a target of €106 million in non-pay savings and a dependency on income collection which is €745 million higher than in 2009.

Ms Harney said that the savings target was achievable without client care being adversely affected.

“In relation to acute hospital services, the focus for 2010 will be on managing inpatient care activity levels, delivering a shift to care on a day case basis, where appropriate, and on performance improvements such as same day of surgery admission and minimising length of stay. There will be a particular focus on reducing the current variance across different hospitals for similar procedures,” said Ms Harney.

In addition to cost savings, the 2010 plans seeks a 33,313 reduction in emergency admissions to hospitals.

HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm welcomed publication of the plan and said; “Our challenge this year is to keep on enhancing the quality of the services we provide which can only be achieved by improving our effectiveness and in so doing, reducing cost."

"From a service point of view we will continue to reorient services away from bringing people into hospital for care they should get on a day case basis and in community facilities," he added.

Under the provisions of the Health Act 2004, Ms Harney will now make arrangements for the approved plan to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.

Labour Party health spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan said the plan did not give any details of how the reduction of more than 33,000 in emergency admissions was to be achieved, "other than a brief reference to the development and implementation of a range of initiatives aimed at 'emergency admission avoidance'."

"My fear, grounded in experience, is that with these targets in place and in the absence of any alternative structures, emergency services in hospitals will suffer, with hospitals under pressure not to make admissions," she said.

"Prof Brendan Drumm today said that the HSE were in the process of restructuring, but it should not be forgotten that a comprehensive range of restructuring proposals were presented to the Government by the HSE workers and their representatives in the pay talks before Christmas. The Government rejected those proposals and has left the job of managing our health services even more difficult than it should be."

Ms Harney and Prof Drumm will appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health tomorrow.

Committee chairman Seán Ó Fearghail said: "The provision and management of the country's health services are of importance to everyone. Tomorrow's meeting will allow the members of the committee to directly put any issues they may have regarding the health service to those charged with its operation.

He said Ms Harney and Prof Drumm would also be able to inform the committee regarding any significant developments or plans which are likely to be implemented throughout the health system over the coming months.

The HSE's service plan plan be downloaded from the HSE website www.hse.ie