The HSE West’s plan to cut temporary staff’s working hours as part of its cost cutting measures could have implications for patient safety, it was claimed this week.
Senator Fidelma Healy Eames says 15 of the 21 medical records staff at University Hospital Galway are temporary. Reducing their hours will mean there are fewer staff to source medical records for hospital patients.
“Not only will this negatively affect waiting lists it could pose a danger to patients’ health. In the absence of sourcing the full record with the patient’s full history, a temporary record has to be made up. Incomplete patient information can lead to medical error.”
The cash starved HSE West announced recently that it must cut its expenditure by €12 million per month until the end of the year in a bid to reach a break-even situation. One of the cost reducing proposals is to cut temporary staff’s working hours by 7,000 per month. Others are controlling student nurse replacement, abseentism and sick leave, redeploying support staff and considering introducing car parking charges and voluntary redundancy packages.
Senator Healy Eames insists UHG and Merlin Park are already “cut to the bone” in terms of budget shaving.
“Staff couldn’t even purchase a blood pressure apparatus in the respiratory unit in Merlin Park. They had to rely on funds donated from patients to get one. This is outrageous. Further cuts will, of course, threaten patient care. Worst of all are the risks to patient safety.”
Speaking in Seanad Eireann on the subject of health service provision, Senator Healy Eames asked the Minister for Health if the Government stand over threats to patient safety.
“Is this the way you plan to meet your budget by terrifying patients?”. Appealing for no further cuts to UHG and Merlin Park she said people must be guaranteed a safe health service.
“Fine Gael’s FairCare policy, if implemented, would ensure that a situation such as this never comes to pass. Our ‘Money Follows The Patient’ model would see hospitals paid for the number of patients they treat instead of being given set budgets which cannot be supplemented when the money runs out.
“As it stands patients are treated as costs instead of a resource to the system. This is the wrong approach. We were duped by this Government. There is no sign anywhere of the world class health service that Fianna Fail and the PDs promised.”
