Drumm says he will not bow to pressure on reforms

The chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Prof Brendan Drumm has said he will not bow to pressure from politicians, lobby groups or vested interests in relation to controversial hospital reform plans in the run-up to the general election.

In an internal memo to senior management yesterday, Prof Drumm said he was determined that the HSE's plans to transform health services for the benefit of all patients would proceed as planned across the country.

"I am also determined that we will not allow demands that are not in the best interest of patient care, which may be placed on us in the coming months to deflect us from our duty to our patients and clients."

Prof Drumm's memo came in the wake of controversy over proposed reforms of hospital services in a number of locations, particularly in Roscommon and east Galway, in recent days.

Both Minister for Health Mary Harney and local Fianna Fáil TD Michael Finneran said on Tuesday that HSE plans to end inpatient surgery in Roscommon and move services to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe would not now go ahead.

Other HSE plans for hospital reforms in the northeast, particularly in Monaghan, have generated much opposition. There is also likely to be controversy over plans to centralise cancer services into new regional structures.

Meanwhile the HSE said last night that there is to be a further review of hospital services in Roscommon and east Galway.

It said no final decision had been taken on whether inpatient surgical services would be retained at Roscommon General Hospital in the longer term and that this would depend on the outcome of the new independent review, which would be initiated within days.

The HSE statement last night appeared to conflict with one issued 24 hours earlier by the organisation in which it said that it hoped to retain inpatient surgery in Roscommon "given the strength of public feeling".

That statement had been issued following a meeting between Mr Finneran and Ms Harney, HSE staff and Department of Health officials.

After the meeting, Mr Finneran, who has opposed the HSE reform proposals for his local hospital from the beginning, said the plan had now been "scrapped".

Ms Harney said: "I think initially the HSE may have said some time in early August that there wasn't going to be any inpatient surgery in Roscommon and I understand the HSE have clarified that that is not the position."

Last month, following an earlier review of services, the HSE proposed that a joint surgery department would be created between Roscommon and Portiuncula hospitals. It proposed that in future all inpatient surgery would be carried out in Ballinasloe, leaving Roscommon to specialise in day case surgery.

The plan was greeted with outrage in Roscommon. Mr Finneran told a public meeting that he would not support the Government and would run as an independent if the plan to withdraw services from Roscommon hospital was not reversed.