Surgery cuts would ‘turn back clock’ on reforms

A leading action group for the elderly has warned that rerouting money away from surgeries like hip replacements and cataracts to more serious, life-threatening conditions would “turn back the clock” on healthcare reform.

Age Action Ireland spokesman Eamon Timmins made the claim after the Health Information Quality Authority (Hiqa) confirmed it had been asked by the HSE to examine the merits of such a move.

Under the proposal, the State health watchdog was requested to spend the next year assessing the value of continuing funding levels for 20 of the most common form of non-life-threatening hospital surgeries.