Hospital budgets are in a critical condition

Over-spending by hospitals is running at twice the rate it was this time last year. And there’s little sign the trend is going to change, writes Claire O’Sullivan

JUST five months into the year and already the HSE hospitals budget has derailed once more. The hospital sector alone is now €101m over-budget, with hospital management having spent €1,659m rather than the €1.558m it is allocated.

Latest hospital expenditure figures show that some hospitals in the country have over-spent by as much as 10%-28% up to the end of the May.