Patients will die if health services are cut, warn opposition parties

Patients will die because of the scale of health cuts being imposed, opposition parties have warned after hospital chiefs voiced grave concerns.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin insisted that a letter from the CEOs of St James’s hospital, Tallaght Hospital, the Mater, and Our Lady’s hospital in Crumlin proved that proposed cuts of up to €1bn were “untenable”.

“Basically, they are saying in a nutshell, that the quality of services and patient-safety are being compromised right now and will be irreparably compromised if these cuts go ahead,” he told TDs. “The system is telling the Taoiseach it can take no more, certainly not cuts of this scale. If they go ahead patients lives will be lost as a result.”