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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Creaking service under more strain
A WEXFORD TD has hit out strongly at proposed HSE cuts which he says will “put creaking health services under further strain.”
Michael D’Arcy made his comment in the wake of high level government meetings taking place this week to find €2billion euro to cut from the budget for 2011 – in addition to the €1billion being cut but from the capital expenditure budget.
“Health services in the south east have already been stripped back to breaking point. The HSE’s plan for the region is to cut, cut, cut,” he said.
These comments come at a time when many people are worried the 24hour status of Wexford General will be lost, leading to increased travel time to get access to emergency services.
“There is little cohesion. The HSE is overspending by some €90 million this year. Vital frontline services are now being stripped away to deal with the spending black hole. This has been caused by layer upon layer of red tape and bureaucracy, overseen by a management structure that was enhanced, rather than reduced, when the HSE was established.”
According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation there were 15 people on trolleys in Wexford General Hospital yesterday, which was the third highest of any regional hospital in the country.
Primary care and community packages had an over spend of more than €6 million and Deputy D’Arcy said the HSE are not keeping their word in this regard: “When the HSE decided to strip hospital beds and services in the region, it promised more primary and community care funding. It is now reneging on those commitments.”
The TD said frontline services in the south east are already under severe strain and there is a premium on geriatric beds in the region. “Waiting lists of almost a year are being imposed for speech and language treatment. Staff shortages and embargos mean that state of the art scanning machines are lying idle.”
The Fine Gael Deputy called on the people from Wexford to show the officials in the government and the HSE they would not stand for this: “The south east must take a stand. We need to send a clear message to the Government that our health is not a commodity.”
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