''Devastating'' budget cuts to hit services at city hospitals
Date Published: {J}
Galway University Hospitals (GUH) will face a shortfall of €25m in its budget for this year which will have a devastating impact on patients, the chairman of the Regional Health Forum has predicted.
This year's budget for University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park Hospital has been slashed from €290m to €248m.
In a breakdown provided by the HSE West Regional Health Forum director Dr Sean Conroy, it was outlined that University Hospital Galway (UHG) and Merlin Park Hospital actually spent €301m, an overrun of €11m.
With savings from reduced salaries as a result of the paycuts, lower oil and energy bills and insurance, the HSE estimate they can achieve savings of €14.5m.
Dr Conroy stated in a letter to chairman Padraig Conneely that this leaves the two hospitals with an actual deficit of €25m – an enormous challenge for the already cash-strapped service.Cllr Conneely said the main losers as a result of this budget slashing are the patients.
He has asked for an outline of where the hospitals will make cuts in line with the reduced budget in a question to be tabled at tomorrow’s health forum meeting in Limerick.
“This obviously is going to have an affect on patient care – it will result in more bed closures, wards closing and theatre closing and outpatients are also going to be similarly adversely affected,” Cllr Conneely stated.
“2009 was the worst year in terms of patients forced on trolleys and the hospitals got a very poor rating by the HSE’s own Health Stat measurement. How is the service going to improve when the money is cut so substantially?”