HSE boss vows to rein in spending as he admits deficit in health at €300m

The head of the HSE has pledged to rein in overspending as figures show the deficit in health reached almost €300m by July this year.

HSE CEO Paul Reid has blamed the overspend so far this year on operational services, including for residential services for those with intellectual disabilities, emergency hospital care as well as an ageing population.

Mr Reid will be quizzed by TDs at the Oireachtas Health Committee today on the HSE’s runaway costs for 2019, as he and health authorities face demands to curb spending.

TDs including Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly and Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly, are expected to quiz Mr Reid as well as Health Minister Simon Harris, on the lack of hospital beds and operation waiting times among areas.

Pledging to curb spending, Mr Reid confirmed that as of July, there was a deficit of €281m in health.

“The greatest cost pressures within our operational services are in respect of providing residential placements to service users with an intellectual disability, and the provision of specialist emergency care, within the acute hospital setting, to a growing population of older and frailer patients,” he said.

Monthly limits among sections in health have also been agreed, TDs will be told.

“The measures to limit overruns include greater emphasis on controls around agency spend, overtime and staffing levels,” said Mr Reid.

Monthly expenditure limits have been agreed which are being monitored closely including at a monthly financial management meeting which I chair that all the CHO chief officers and hospital group CEOs attend.

Elsewhere, health agencies and the HSE are close to agreeing a winter plan in the weeks ahead to cope with increased hospital admissions, the flu and severe pressures on services.

Health Minister Simon Harris will tell the committee: “The HSE has confirmed that nearly all of these winter plans have been submitted and are currently being reviewed. My department expects to receive a draft ‘Winter Plan’ in the coming weeks.”

He is also set to launch the HSE’s influenza flu vaccine campaign tomorrow for this year and next. Greater levels of protection will be offered to those who take it up, the committee will be told.

“This year, for the first time... a quadrivalent influenza vaccine will be used instead of the standard trivalent vaccine.

“The provision of a quadrivalent vaccine will offer a substantially greater level of protection to the population when compared to the trivalent vaccine provided in recent years.”