Overdraft move by hospital makes sense, says minister
He was responding to questions about Tallaght Hospital in Dublin obtaining an overdraft facility of over €12m from AIB.
The arrangement will secure Tallaght’s cash flow to the end of the year.
The hospital’s chief executive, Eilish Hardiman, has stressed that patient services would not be affected.
“This [Tallaght] is a voluntary hospital and they are quite entitled, in the running of their business, to use an overdraft facility. It makes absolute sense,” said Dr Reilly.
He said Ms Hardiman, who he described as a new breed of modern manager, had made it very clear that the hospital has increased its activity, reduced its cost base, and continued to give patients priority. “And I think that’s the way it should be. Absolutely.”
Asked if he was confident patient safety would not be affected, he said he was. “Patient safety and outcomes has to be to the fore of our minds in everything we do.”
He said he was not disappointed Tallaght was not able to balance its books. “No. I think Tallaght is doing a great a job. Just think where Tallaght was a year ago. We had a report about unopened letters, about patients being left in corridors unsupervised. All that has changed to the wellbeing of patients.”
Dr Reilly said the new management arrangement in place in Tallaght should be encouraged. “I think Eilish Hardiman is doing a great job and the nurses and doctors are doing a great job there too.”
Asked about the expe-cted shortfall of over €1bn between cuts and overruns in the health service, he said they were preparing the budget for next year and the cost base had to be looked at. He said the new consultant arrangements would yield at least €200m in savings and there was work to be done on the working week.
“We have to look at our cost base… The troika have made it very clear. So we can’t continue to cut the service. We’re not prepared to do that — we have got to look elsewhere for the savings.”
Dr Reilly said there were efficiencies to be made.
“We have to treat the patient at the lowest level of complexity that is safe, timely and efficient and as near to home as possible.
“I don’t want consultants doing work GPs could be doing, I don’t want GPs doing work nurses could be doing, and I don’t want nurses doing work healthcare assistants or allied health professionals could do.”
He referred to a pilot programme at St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cork where physiotherapists screened all referrals to orthopaedic surgeons.
“They found they were able to deal with 50% of the referrals themselves without having to refer them on to the surgeons.”
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