Acute hospital funding to be cut by €200m

Acute hospitals will receive around €200 million less in State funding this year, the HSE has confirmed.

The HSE’s divisional service plans for 2014, published today, indicate that hospitals on average will face a budget cut of around 4 per cent.

The plan for the acute hospital sector says additional cost containment measures on top of the €56.5 million introduced last year will be required.

The HSE has also put in place a target of generating savings of €7.5 million from the reconfiguration of hospital services.

Separately the HSE plan says there will be a comprehensive review of eligibility for medical cards and GP visit cards.