HSE Budget: Services - Extra €97m to roll out developments

An extra €97m in funding is provided in the Health Service Executive’s national service plan for new service developments, including cancer and disability services.

The health authority has €38.5m to spend on improvements to acute hospital services (€13m), cancer services (€10m, including €1.5m for Breast Check), disability services (7.25m), health and well-being (€2.5m) national ambulance service (€2m), respite care (€1m), palliative care (€0.7m), and finance reform, including activity based funding (€2m).

A further €58.5m will be available to the HSE once implementation plans have been agreed with the Department of Health.

The bulk of the funding — €35m — will be spent on improvements in mental health services, with €13.5m to be spent on primary care, including the extension of free GP care to children up to the age of 12.

A total of €8m will be spent on therapeutic services for young people and €2m on the implementation, on a pilot basis, of recommendations of the nursing task-force.

The plan includes €3m for new maternity service improvements being phased in next year — spending will be more than €9m in a full year.

The money will be spent making maternity service improvements in line with recommendations made by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and other reviews.

Additional funding of €2.5m has been provided to include rotavirus and meningococcal B immunisation in the primary childhood immunisation programme, which the HSE hopes to introduce next year.

New funding of €10m is provided for cancer services, including cancer drugs and to support the expansion of Breastcheck to women aged 65-69 years (€1.5m) and to develop the BowelScreen programme.