Physiotherapy services for public patients cost less than £1 a patient a day, according to research by the Southern Health Board. The research suggests that, in this area at least, the public health service is treating patients at remarkably low cost.
The finding is part of an SHB project which could play a hugely influential role in future health planning throughout the State.
The "activity-based costing" project aims to work out the true cost of individual procedures, treatments and services provided in hospitals and in the community-care system.
The research is being carried out in the north and south Lee community care areas in Cork and in Cork University Hospital. According to Mr Mark Dixon, manager of the Activity Based Costing Unit, it is likely to be extended to other health board hospitals.
The community physiotherapy team in north and south Lee cost £28,411 to fund in April, the month for which figures have been provided to us, and it treated 845 patients. Additional contacts with other patients brought the total number to 1,032 people.
That £28,411 includes everything from salaries to training and the share of the cost of central administration which can be apportioned to this service.
The resulting cost for each patient clearly is extremely low and if this is replicated across other services, it would do much to counter arguments that the public health service is wasteful of money.
Most of those treated by physiotherapists were not people recovering from hip operations but people with neurological complaints.
The breakdown of patients treated is: neurological complaints: 277; orthopaedic: 193; arthritis: 127; spinal: 71; mental (mainly dementia): 33; respiratory: 6; other: 135. Of those actually treated during the month, 365 were in-patients and 217 out-patients.
A total of 174 were treated at home and 89 in a day care centre.
Ms Raymonde O'Sullivan, the SHB's director of finance, believes the research could influence how the health services work throughout the State. A recent conference on the research attracted delegates from all over the State.
When the Minister for Finance introduced his Estimates for next year, he challenged the health services "to put the necessary organisational and management changes in place in order to demonstrate that the service being provided not only meets public expectations but also represents value for money to the taxpayer."
hospitalwatch@irish-times.ie
Hospital Watch and Checkup on the Web: www.ireland.com.special/hospital