CEO rejects accusation that HSE is 'bunch of wasters with public money'
Bernard Gloster also said on Tuesday he has not been asked to cut services for patients and does not expect this will happen.
The HSE CEO has rejected accusations the organisation is “a complete bunch of wasters with public money” but said a deficit is guaranteed for next year because of funding shortages.
Bernard Gloster also said on Tuesday he has not been asked to cut services for patients and does not expect this will happen. This follows weeks of intense focus on the health budget, with critical commentary around value being provided by the budget of over €22bn.
“There is a control issue in aspects of what we do, but the notion that the health service or the 150,000 people I’m privileged to lead, is some sort of, as one commentator described it, a flesh-eating thing on the public finances, I absolutely reject that,” he said.
He pointed to spiraling energy costs as one area they cannot control, with a full-year price plan for next year up 85% on last year. “That’s not my being a waster,” he said, adding there are plans in place to tackle areas they can control.
“The notion that we are just a complete bunch of wasters with public money, I absolutely reject that,” he told Senator Sean Kyne who raised examples of recent criticism.
Mr Gloster said recruitment freezes announced this month are linked to over-hiring past funded limits. This included hiring over 700 additional NCHDs (non-consultant hospital doctors) when funding covered 500, and a pause in recruiting carers, he told Social Democrats health spokeswoman Roisin Shortall.
On homecare, he added: “At minimum next year the same hours will be in the service plan”, noting hours for clients are not being cut.
Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt said 22,000 additional staff were hired over the last three years. This “record investment” is needed, he said, with this year some 178,000 additional patients treated compared to the same time last year.
The officials also discussed expected increases in use of generic or biosimilar medicines instead of new drugs. However, there are no alternatives in some cases, Mr Watt said, pointing to a new treatment for Alzimeher’s disease.
“Lecanemab, if approved, could have a budget impact of €100m annually at list price in Ireland based on 4,000 patients requiring treatment,” he said.
He said if medicines offering the same benefits are cheaper that is where the budget should be spent. “Certainly that’s what we need to do because we can’t afford all the demands, we need to move towards more efficient ways in every case, and the drugs budget is an example of that,” he said.
HSE chief clinical officer, Dr Colm Henry, said they are saving €80m through use of some biosimilar medications and this could be increased.
Health official at the Department of Health, Louise McGirr, said controls on salary can also be improved.
“The CEO has talked repeatedly about getting controls about the agency pay-bill, overtime costs and a much better stronger focus on control of the entirety of the pay-bills,” she said. “So we are over-spending on pay, and I think about one-third of the acutes deficit is on pay.”
