Patient care will not be affected by cuts, say chiefs

Health chiefs have insisted they will be able to run services on less money this year without affecting patient care.

The HSE officials gave details yesterday of how they intend working within a budget that is more than €600m down on last year, stressing efficiency drives would enable them to deliver services without diminishing standards.

While admitting they faced challenges because of the financial constraints, they claimed they could actually improve people’s experiences of the health care system through a range of new initiatives.