Board warns of possible waiting list for aids for the disabled

One of the country's main health boards has warned that it may have to introduce waiting lists for walking or bathing aids for the disabled as well as other healthcare appliances because of new financial difficulties.

The Irish Times has learned that in a confidential letter to the Department of Health last Friday, the Western Health Board warned of growing pressure on its finances.

The letter said the health board may have to reintroduce a waiting list to provide the disabled and elderly with aids and appliances.

The board defines aids and appliances as devices which help disabled people in their daily activities, replace functions lost and support carers in carrying out special tasks.

The board's aids and appliance report says that examples includes hoists for transferring people from beds to chairs, as well as devices ranging from walking and bathing aids to sophisticated voice-activated computers.

A spokeswoman for the health board told The Irish Times last night that all priority cases would continue to be dealt with immediately.

The spokeswoman said: "The level of aids and appliance provision this year is considerably in excess of last year's level."

It is understood that the official financial figures submitted to the Department of Health in recent weeks reveal that the Western Health Board ran up a deficit of €6.2 million in the first six months of the year.

"As you can see from the foregoing our financial position poses significant challenges, particularly in respect of our acute hospitals, demand-led schemes and unfunded awards. All of our opening credit balance will be required to enable us to reach a break-even position at year end with the exception of the once-off charge of €5.3 million for payroll rationalisation.

"Achieving a break-even will be at the expense of deferring the health and safety projects the board had prioritised from this funding," the board's chief executive, Dr Sile Ryan, told the Department of Health at the end of July.

The Western Health Board is not the only health board facing possible cutbacks.

On July 26th the acting chief executive of the South Eastern Health Board, Mr Peter Finnegan, told the Department of Health that its financial deficit had increased by €1.7 million to €4.83 million during the month of June.

He warned that a contingency fund put in place at the beginning of the year may not be enough to cover this projected deficit unless the Government provides additional money or "new measures are introduced to cover excess (discretionary expenditure already deferred)".