Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 19: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the response she received regarding the public outcry following the closure of wards and cutbacks at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin; if action is being taken to ensure that this situation does not occur on an ongoing basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23240/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In common with all hospitals, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin is addressing the challenge of delivering a high quality service to its patients, while remaining within budget. The Hospital is committed to providing the full level of services that it promised in its service plan for 2009. The top priority will be to protect patient care. So far this year, Crumlin Hospital has delivered more treatments to patients than for the same period last year. In the first four months of 2009 there were 3,704 treatments for children as in-patients and 5,095 as day cases– up by 234 over 2008. Crumlin also had 28,040 attendances at the out-patient department for the first four months.

The allocation to Crumlin for 2009 is €139.6m, an increase of some 39% over the last five years. This includes a reduction of 3% this year over 2008, in line with the budgetary constraints facing the entire public sector and the wider economy. A particular challenge for the Hospital is that it is currently operating at some 91 posts above its employment ceiling – it employed 1,641 people (wholetime equivalents) at the end of April compared with its ceiling of 1,550. This is contributing to its current financial difficulties. The HSE is working closely with Crumlin Hospital to achieve an agreed programme of savings, totalling €6.5m this year. The focus of these savings will be on non-pay areas of expenditure and on protecting front-line services. On this basis, the HSE believes that the Hospital will achieve a break-even position this year.

I believe that we need to look more strategically at the way in which we provide paediatric services in Dublin. In 2009 the Government will provide over €250m for the running of three paediatric hospitals in Dublin – Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght. We can achieve significant cost savings if services and practices are more closely integrated across the three hospital sites, even before the new National Paediatric Hospital has been completed. With this in mind, the HSE is pursuing ways in which services across the three hospitals can best be co-ordinated, to avoid unnecessary duplication and to achieve savings that can be put back. On the issue of specific operational actions being taken, my Department has asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy in that regard.