Health Minister Mary Harney has given a firm commitment that Portiuncula Hospital’s A&E service will not be reduced.
Speaking at a Health and Children Joint Oireachtas Committee meeting in Dublin she said there were no plans to reduce emergency department services at the 197-bed Ballinasloe hospital.
There was mounting concern in recent months that the east Galway facility’s ED opening hours might be scaled down due to a shortage of junior doctors. Local politicians warned this would impact adversely on local patient care and would put further pressure on University Hospital Galway which was “already bursting at the seams”, according to HSE West forum chairperson Cllr Padraig Conneely.
Deputy Paul Connaughton says HSE proposals to suspend elective surgery and close medical wards at Merlin Park Hospital could have a ripple effect on Portiuncula Hospital.
“The recent proposal to close wards in Merlin Park raised all sorts of alarm bells. It could have ramifications for Portiuncula in that the conventional wisdom of the HSE and the Minister is that hospitals like Ballinasloe and indeed Merlin Park would take the strain off UHG by carrying out specific operations that didn’t need to be located in a centre of excellence such as UHG.”
Replying to a question from Deputy Connaughton at the Oireachtas meeting Minister Harney said Portiuncula’s budget for this year is €43.2m. However, its May accounts indicate it has overrun this by €3.9m. It is estimated that by the end of the year this figure will be €6.6m.
She outlined the hospital’s breakeven plan includes a range of cost savings measures including reduced overtime, reductions in travel, and greater efficiencies in non pay spending.
“It also involves reconfiguration of wards from seven day beds to five day wards and changing 18 inpatient beds to day care beds. In addition, one theatre will close for six weeks during the summer period. Savings of €3.5m have been identified but discussions are ongoing to identify the remainder. The hospital will continue to implement all possible measures to achieve breakeven. There are no plans to reduce ED services from the current levels.”
Portiuncula Hospital serves the needs of adults and children in the catchment areas of east Galway, Co Westmeath, north Tipperary, Roscommon and Co Offaly. It has a total of 197 beds -173 inpatient and 24 daycare beds. It provides a comprehensive range of services including acute medical and surgical care, obstetrics and emergency care. The hospital will treat 10,694 inpatients, 7,338 day cases and 42,497 outpatients this year. Its emergency department operates on a 24 hour basis and will cater for 20,313 cases in 2010.
