Statement from Irish Hospitals Consultants Association on HSE Service Plan
Statement from Irish Hospitals Consultants Association on HSE Service Plan
14th December, 2016: The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has criticised the inadequate increase in the acute hospital and mental health services budgets following the publication of the 2017 HSE National Service Plan.
Commenting on the 2017 HSE Service Plan, Dr Tom Ryan, IHCA President, said: “A 2.8% increase in the acute hospital budget is inadequate and completely insufficient to cater for existing patient demand. We are very concerned that the budget allocation will not be sufficient and that it will fail to address the growing waiting lists and increased patient demand for healthcare due to demographic and other reasons. The plan fails to address the critical capacity constraints that have arisen from years of cuts in health sector capital expenditure.”
Dr Ryan added: “The root causes of the crisis in our public hospitals are inadequate acute and ICU bed capacity and insufficient operating capacity which have not been addressed in this Service Plan. These constraints are not only leading to longer waiting lists but they are resulting in the cancellation of essential surgery with increased frequency.”
Dr Ryan said that acute health infrastructure is crumbling, with many hospitals attempting to treat patients with inadequate facilities and equipment that is increasingly obsolete. He said that it is disappointing that the National Service Plan does not provide funding to address the critical acute hospital and mental health capacity deficits which are preventing consultants and frontline staff from treating patients without delays.
“I am also very concerned that despite promises to address the recruitment and retention of nurses and midwifery staff, no effort is being made to address the hundreds of vacant consultant posts which exist across the country and are having a massive impact on patient care,” Dr Ryan said.
ENDS
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