Talks between IMPACT trade union and management in the HSE concerning proposed spending cuts in the region adjourned in Galway yesterday (Tuesday) without agreement. The meeting was also attended by Siptu and the INMO.
IMPACT officials who attended the talks said they were disappointed by the lack of engagement shown by the HSE. They said that management seemed reluctant to disclose specific details on the extent of deficits and the nature of the proposed cuts.
However, they described the employers attitude to major cuts to fixed-term workers posts as ‘gung-ho’, even when there was no apparent reason for some of the posts the employers say must be cut.
IMPACT’s health national secretary Louise O’Donnell explained “The HSE have acknowledged that services right across the region will be severely hit if these cuts are implemented. Their approach seems indiscriminate and ill-advised. We have adjourned now to consider what was discussed today. If there is any light at the end of this particular tunnel, it will be recognition of the cost saving approach provided for in the Public Service (Croke Park) Agreement. We have yet to see if that will be used as a guide by the HSE in this case.”
A confidential consultancy report by consultants Mott and MacDonald, commissioned by the HSE, had not been disclosed to health unions before yesterday’s talks. Media reports yesterday said the report advises that up to 1,000 temporary employment contracts across the entire HSE West region could be cut in order to generate savings of €15-20 million over six months.
The existence of the Mott MacDonald report only came to light following media reports. The secrecy surrounding the report, and the scale of job and service losses it proposes, has provoked a wave of anger right across the region.
According to media reports Mott MacDonald warns that the majority of the personnel identified work in frontline services and cutbacks on the scale proposed are “likely to result in the downsizing and/or curtailment of some services”. The report also recommends the following:
Consideration of other cost-saving options including curtailing hospital services, such as scaling back elective admissions for a defined period
Proposals for a ‘needs review’ of home helps and homecare services
The introduction of waiting lists for aids and appliances
Cuts in overtime, improved income generation and more efficient procurement practices
North West
Richy Carrothers, IMPACT’s official in the North West said that there is very little clear information coming from the HSE, “We need clarity. The cost overruns figure varies widely, ranging between €90 and €150 million. We had no sight of the Mott MacDonald report before the LRC engagement. The report was prepared in secret. The livelihoods of up to 1,000 workers are at stake, as well as a range of services provided to people in the region. Despite this, precious little information is forthcoming” he said.
When Richy met with management of Sligo General Hospital last month he received details of the hospital’s plans to deal with an existing overspend of €5.9 million.
The measures include:
A further 60 bed closures. This follows 72 beds closed in 2009
Alterations to the fixed term contracts of 25 employees. In a number of circumstances this will result in workers having their weekly hours reduced from 35 hours to just eight hours per week
Transfer of other staff to the community sector. Details of this proposal are not yet available
A significant reduction in drug stock levels
Richy explained that the proposed cuts will affect radiology and oncology among other services in the area. He added that the Sligo General’s spending is in line with spending last year. The hospital has a total budget of €97.5 million for 2010. The total spend in 2009 was €117.5 million.
He added that any overspend was due to more people needing treatment, “More people are presenting with medical cards and fewer people now have health insurance, leading to more demands on services locally.”
Mid West
The HSE deficit in the Mid West is €35 million. IMPACT officials were told that this is due to a decision by the HSE to reduce overall financial allocations to HSE West, and the fact that more patients are being treated within smaller budgets. The HSE said that €30 million of the deficit is attributable to hospital services and the remainder to community services.
A range of cost-saving measures are already in place in the region. These include measures to drive down procurement and medication costs. A ban on recruitment in the region has also resulted in the non-replacement of over 700 staff so far this year.
One of the proposals was the dismissal of staff employed on fixed term contracts of employment. IMPACT official Andy Pike estimates that there are between 200 and 300 such contracts in the Mid West. “The HSE has said that each contract will now be reviewed with a view either non-renewal of the contract when it expires or terminating the contract if the post is no longer determined to be a clear and pressing priority” he said.
Andy described the situation in the Mid West as critical. “We have informed the HSE that if it proceeded with the termination of contracts we would be in a serious industrial dispute very quickly. The Croke Park agreement clearly states that the government will not make public servants compulsorily redundant. Yet before the ink has dried on the pages of the agreement the HSE appears to be intent on breaching one of the most crucial elements of the new national agreement by dismissing staff”
Other cost saving measures tabled by the HSE Mid West include:
Closure of the orthopaedic operating theatre and an orthopaedic ward at Croom Orthopaedic hospital
25 in-patient beds will be closed at Ennis General and Nenagh General Hospitals;
Ward closure at St Joseph’s Hospital
Ward closure at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick
Staffing will be cut through the elimination of overtime and a reduction in the use of agency staff
NCHD medical posts will be reduced through the reduction in locum cover;
ENT services will be suspended completely
Charges in staff canteens will be increased by over 50% (local price rises of 30% are compounded by the imposition of VAT bringing the total cost increase to over 50%)
Car parking charges will be increased
The closures will be reviewed every 12 weeks until the end of the year
The LRC are expected to reconvene all parties shortly.
