THE HSE is seeking voluntary hospitals and other health agencies to use their overdraft facilities to the maximum in the weeks ahead to finance their own services as much as possible.
The move, which would reduce the need to draw down HSE funding, forms part of the health authority’s bid to tackle a potential €300 million deficit.
The HSE has also sought approval from the Department of Health to use surplus money originally allocated for capital projects for current purposes.
It is also seeking supplementary funding from the Government to deal with a shortfall in its allocation for spending on community services and is planning to speed up the collection of income owed to it. A new financial report on the health service, published last night, showed that at the end of October it had overspent by €234 million. “Based upon the current expenditure rate the HSE is projecting a potential vote deficit in the region of €300 million subject to further cost reduction by service directorates.”
The report said that demand for hospital services was still high and hospitals were continuing to deliver services at levels above the targets set out in the agreement with the Government on how the HSE budget would be spent.
It said that at the end of September hospitals had recorded a deficit of €145.6 million. There was also a shortfall of €22.6 million in income due.
Minister for Health James Reilly said yesterday that Tallaght hospital would be given additional money this year to deal with its deficit.