Hospital faces cuts and fines anomaly

One of the country’s busiest children’s hospitals has been ordered to cut its surgical theatre procedures by one quarter — despite facing €25,000 fines for every month a patient is on a long-term waiting list for these same procedures.

The bizarre situation was revealed by a senior consultant at Temple St Children’s Hospital, who said the contradictory statements from the HSE and Department of Health underlined mismanagement in the system.

Michael O’Keeffe, a consultant ophthalmologist at the facility, said HSE officials have told hospital management it must close one of its four surgical theatres every day due to deepening budget cuts.

The situation, which Prof O’Keeffe said does not have an end date and will continue for an indefinite “rolling basis” period, begins with immediate effect.

The senior medic, an outspoken critic of health service cutbacks and who has previously hit out at two-year-long waiting lists for some children, said the move means up to 1,500 patients will see their care delayed.

The HSE move comes at the same time the Department of Health’s special delivery unit has told hospitals that from Apr 1, it will fine them €25,000 for every patient waiting over 12 months for treatment.

In a statement, a Temple St spokesperson said the situation was the result of HSE demands for hospital spending to be reduced.

“In 2011, 7,280 patients were treated in theatre, exceeding the hospital’s funded activity levels by 12%. However, the hospital is not funded to perform over and above its agreed activity levels,” the spokes-person said.

“In order to remain within its allocated budget for 2012, Temple St is implementing rolling theatre closures with immediate effect. This will result in the closure of one in four of hospital theatres.”

A HSE spokesperson for the Dublin and Mid-Leinster region defended the imposed cuts, saying Temple St’s overall budget reduction “was significantly less than average”.

Meanwhile, another senior physician has criticised claims by James Reilly, the health minister, that the Mater site for the National Children’s Hospital plan could still go ahead if the size of the proposed facility was reduced.

Dr Martin White, of the national neonatal advisory group, made the statement on Morning Ireland after the Irish Examiner revealed Dr Reilly was warned against such a move in his briefing notes on becoming health minister last year. He said the faculty of paediatricians had “grave reservations” about this possible step.

In particular, he said moving laboratories or education facilities to other locations would reduce standards, and that a reduction in size will undoubtedly impact on the size of rooms allowing parents to stay with their seriously ill children.

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