Health cuts - Ill-advised cuts will prove costly

A TOTAL of 200,000 Irish people suffer from diabetes, but half of them are not aware they have the disease, which can lead to blindness.

Many of those suffering from it may have inherited it genetically. They may not fit the obese profile frequently associated with diabetes.

Last year the Government’s own diabetes expert advisory group identified the introduction of screening as a priority to prevent blindness among those already identified as suffering from the disease. The HSE was supposed to introduce the diabetic retinopathy screening programme in the western region before the end of this year, and to roll it out in other regions on a yearly basis until it would be fully operational in 2011.

But the whole process has been shelved to save money. Of course, the disease is not being put on hold; the politicians and the civil servants have just decided to forget about it, while people may go blind because of such blind indifference. That will ultimately cost much more than what will supposedly be saved.

This is just another instance of targeting cutbacks on highly vulnerable people. Dr Tony O’Sullivan of the diabetes expert advisory group has slammed the decision as “disgusting”. It is also callous and irresponsible.

Time and money were wasted in setting up the advisory group and holding meetings. The HSE acknowledged the importance of the recommendations by deciding to implement them, but it has now scrapped the programme — at least for the foreseeable future.

It makes no practical sense to spend money on identifying necessary measures to deal with a problem and then do nothing about implementing them. There seems to be no end to bureaucratic administration, but practical services are the first to suffer when the bureaucrats cut back. It should be the other way round.

Health Minister Mary Harney has surrounded herself with four highly paid advisers — a special adviser, press secretary, economic adviser and programme adviser. They have an average annual salary of about €145,000 each. There seems to be no indication that the Government is cutting back on its phalanx of special assistants. They seem so superfluous, when the Government is pleading that it does not have the money to implement necessary programmes.

What is the primary role of the HSE — to provide an effective health service or to protect the positions of essentially redundant administrators?

There are reports in the Irish Examiner today of pending cutbacks in critical services, because essential staff are not being replaced, and cutbacks in other regions are forcing patients to seek treatment at hospitals that are already under too much stress.

Beaumont Hospital is under undue pressure in dealing with referrals from the north-east area, while St James’s and Tallaght hospitals have decided to refuse referrals for particular services. Mercy Hospital may have to cap outpatients receiving oncology treatment, which could have a knock-on impact on CUH.

Will refusing treatment to cancer patients be the next scandal? Callous selective cutbacks could turn the promised centres of excellence into an administrative nightmare.