'Non-filling' of 800 health board jobs to save €7.75m

The "employment savings" the Department of Health expects health boards to make vary from 40 jobs in the Midland Health Board area to 320 for the Eastern Regional Health Authority.

The 800 job cuts it announced are expected to save at least €7.75 million. The Department expects savings to be made through the "non-filling" of existing vacancies, while specifying that they should not be in "frontline" or direct patient services.

A number of health boards, including the ERHA, have indicated that the cost savings are in line with what the Department has indicated.

The ERHA, which covers three health boards in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, is expected not to fill 320 jobs and thus save €4.25 million. It hopes to be able to achieve the saving through the non-filling of posts, but if lay-offs became necessary they would be "minimal".

The €7.75 million figure excludes savings for the Southern, Northern Eastern and Midwestern boards for which costs are not available.

However, it does include the Department's "indicative" figure of 85 for the Western Health Board and "levy" of €1.15 million. The Western Health Board has insisted that the €1.15 million is equivalent to 200 and not 85 jobs.

The savings relate to "whole-time equivalent" jobs for the next four months, from September to the end of the year. The Southern Health Board was directed not to fill 100 management and administration jobs, but no cost-saving was given. Figures for June indicate a budget overrun of €11.235 million. Mr Séan Hurley, the chief executive, wrote to the board's members informing them that he had not received details of the amount of savings expected to be generated. However, "it is clear that all of the savings will not be met from the non-filling of posts as either vacancies do not exist or staff are in place in posts".

He said, however, that "to date, no service reductions have been put in place or are planned".

A spokeswoman for the ERHA emphasised that no staff had been laid off. The ERHA "buys services" from 39 agencies including a number of big hospitals. Some of the smaller agencies would not face any cuts while the larger ones "will have to face the brunt of posts not being filled".

The spokeswoman said the ERHA hoped the savings would be met through the non-filling of posts. "This might not be possible, but any lay-offs should be minimal," she said.

The Midwestern Health Board declined to give any details of the number of jobs affected or the cost implications until Monday, after discussions at corporate level. However, Department figures show it is expected not to fill 65 jobs.

The South Eastern Board has been directed to implement savings of €850,000, which the Department has equated with the non-filling of 60 management/administration posts within the board's area, which covers Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and South Tipperary.

The acting chief executive of the SEHB, Mr John Magner, is preparing a report for the board's next meeting in September.

The North Eastern Health Board, which covers Louth, Meath, Monaghan and part of Cavan, has been told not to fill 60 non-clinical jobs.

No cost has been given for those job-savings, and a spokeswoman said there would be no further comment on the figures until the board's monthly meeting in September.

However, the board's financial returns for the first six months of the year show expenditure running at €9.29 million or 4.3 per cent above its budget, which amounts to €450.053 million for 2002.

The Northwestern Health Board is required to save €950,000 through the non-filling of 70 jobs. It said it would initially focus on unfilled and vacant posts.

The Midland Health Board has been instructed to reduce its staff by 40 jobs to save €550,000. It had a budget overrun of €2.1 million for the first six months of the year. However, the board said it had no plans to cut services in order to recoup losses.

The board is funded in arrears and, while it is currently overspent, "we anticipated that with receipt of this funding and with continued prudent management of the board's own resources, we will break even at the end of the year", it said in a statement.