Our health service - Reform is about more than money

TODAY we report on how the inefficient management of two minor areas of Health Service Executive (HSE) finances cost the organisation nearly €20 million a year.

Even for an entity with a budget approaching €20 billion this is a significant figure, especially as the organisation is struggling to provide the service everyone, the HSE included, would wish.

The HSE’s finances are under tremendous and increasing pressure to provide medical cards for workers who lose their jobs because of the recession. Early estimates suggest unemployment will throw the HSE budget off course by as much as €40m this year.