Patients to suffer for hospital debt, warns FG

PATIENTS in the West and North West face major cutbacks in care as seven hospitals have plunged €27 million into the red, Fine Gael warned last night.

Shadow Cabinet member Denis Naughten claimed resources for day services are now so overstretched money will need to be saved at the expense of people needing treatment.

“Public health services are already being curtailed in the North East region due to overspends.

“There is a very real risk that this will be replicated in the West and North West,” the Longford-Roscommon TD said

The figures show Letterkenny General Hospital overshot its budget by €8.03 million, followed by University College Hospital in Galway on €6.2 million.

Sligo General Hospital went €4.8m over budget while Mayo General and Portinuncula overspent by €4.1m and €2.4m respectively.

Merlin Park Hospital in Galway City went €642,000 over while the County Hospital Roscommon exceeded by €970,000.

Mr Naughten warned that the Health Service Executive (HSE) would now seek to curb spending in these hospitals, with a direct impact on patient services.

“These cutbacks will have a detrimental effect on patient services, curtailing elective surgery and affecting the most vulnerable patients,” he said.

Fine Gael claimed the overspend in hospitals is just one symptom of the HSE’s own “illness” — the imbalance between the ballooning number of backroom staff, and the medical staff at the frontline who are struggling to cope.

A HSE spokesman denied there would be any negative impact on patients.

“These figures relate to quarterly returns. They will not have an effect on patient care,” he said.