A local TD is demanding that the Minister for Health reverses a “ridiculous” decision whereby hospitals are fined for failing to meet waiting list targets.
Deputy Noel Grealish slammed the imposition of what he described as a “massive” fine of €1.2 million on University Hospital Galway for not meeting its target.
UHG suffered the highest penalty of any hospital in the country for failing to meet Minister Leo Varadkar’s target of patients being no longer than 18 months on a waiting list for treatment.
The Independent TD went on to accuse the HSE and the Minister for Health of putting patients’ health at risk by this practice.
“How in the name of God is the hospital supposed to tackle the problem of waiting lists when it’s being fined and money taken off it, when instead money should be given to the hospital to try and solve the problem that they have,” he said.
He insisted that penalising the hospital is counter productive. “Patients are going to suffer as a result - this is going to actually increase the waiting lists. If they are going to penalise the hospital, by taking money away, that’s going to hit the services. What’s the point of that?
“Staff at UHG are doing their best in very difficult circumstances. They are working hard in there, they are under resourced and trying to provide a decent service, and what happens but they are penalised and fined more that €1 million when they should be getting more money to resolve the issue. It would be great to see waiting lists being wiped out and I welcome any move that would reduce waiting times for patients, but the Minister can’t just set a target and then not provide the funding that hospitals need to meet that target.
“How does it help patients to have the hospital’s already stretched budget being reduced by more than €1 million at the stroke of a pen? How is that going to reduce waiting times?”
Deputy Grealish said he intends to write to Minister Varadkar demanding that he reverses this “ridiculous decision”.
There were almost 2,500 outpatients and more than 500 inpatient and day-case patients on waiting lists for treatment at the Galway hospital for more than 18 months at the end of the September, according to the local TD.
