Bulk of €1.1bn for health to go on wages

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney admitted last night the bulk of the extra €1.1 billion pouring into the service next year would go on wages as she signalled a major rise in the cost of private beds in public hospitals.

Spending on health will increase to just under €14bn, however, more than €500 million of the extra resources will go into pay packets rather than services which get a €179m boost for new initiatives.

That includes €35m to ensure the opening of eight new acute care units, €4 million to help ease strain on A and E units and the National Treatment Purchase Fund gets a €10m boost taking its annual total €88m.

Ms Harney said the massive share of extra funding being swallowed by wages was good news for patients.

“You can’t provide health services without people. Very often people don’t get a speedy service because there is a shortage of key personnel. The health system is very labour intensive,” she said

Ms Harney added there would be 100 new consultants and no increase in the cost of A&E, hospital stay or drugs charges. She said she would be bringing plans before Cabinet within weeks to shake-up the payment system for private beds in public hospitals, insisting the present arrangements were not cost effective for the health service and charges would need to rise.

The repayment scheme for nursing home patients who were overcharged will absorb €360m of health spending, an increase of 6% on last year.

Ms Harney said the health service budget amounted to €3,300 for every person in the country.

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey insisted the Government was failing to provide value to patients for the taxpayers money it spent.

“This Government is living up to its reputation of being a big spender but unable deliver real improvements for users of the health service. Most galling of all is the €300m it under-spent last year. That could have paid for 2,000 more nurses or 400 step down beds,” he said adding that 100 more people were on A&E trolleys now than two years ago.

Labour health spokesman Liz McManus said capital spending by the HSE had been cut by €15m.

“The health minister is creating a privatised health service that is more expensive and more unequal.

“The modest increase of 5% for the medical card scheme makes it clear that Fianna Fáil has abandoned its promise to deliver over 200,000 extra medical cards,” said Ms McManus.

On top of the €13,945m current health spending, the capital budget increases by just €12m to €657m.

The Office of the Minister for Children is earmarked to receive €120m of the extra €1.1bn allocated. Finance Minister Brian Cowen said there would be more health service announcements in the Budget.