Unions to hear of new health cutbacks

PLANS FOR a new round of health-service cutbacks are to be outlined to union leaders within the next week or so.

No details of the planned cuts were given to unions when they met health-service management last night.

However, they were advised that they could be called to a meeting shortly to discuss measures necessary to allow the Health Service Executive (HSE) to stay within its budget for the year.

The Irish Timesrevealed last month that the HSE faced having to make cuts of up to €300 million this year.

The board of the HSE was told last month that the HSE had overspent its official budget by almost €26 million in January.

It will receive a financial report for February later this week.

An internal report given to the board last month said that "active and rigorous" cost-containment measures were to be introduced.

However, no specific details of the plan were revealed.

The report drawn up last month stated that the HSE's Primary, Community and Continuing Care sector was seeking to make savings of about €95 million this year. It did not set out a precise figure for savings in the hospital sector.

The HSE has said it was seeking to generate savings of up to €100 million through a value-for-money programme, which would examine areas such as travel and telephone costs. It also said it wanted to protect frontline services.

However, the chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm warned union leaders last month that if spending was not brought under control, other measures, including the operation of A&E units in smaller hospitals, the closure of hospital wards at weekends and the shutting down of facilities over the summer, could be examined. He said the HSE was facing a €300 million "challenge" this year.

Last night the secretary of the health sector group of unions, Kevin Callinan of Impact, said that if the suggestions of further cutbacks were accurate, it would strengthen the resolve of his members, who are currently balloting on industrial action.

The HSE did not comment last night.

Meanwhile, unions at last night's meeting expressed concern to the HSE that there were about two dozen separate agreements which had not been implemented by management.

The talks last night were the latest in a series of meetings between HSE management and unions following a landmark Labour Court ruling earlier this year which found that the health authority had breached the terms of the national agreement over the manner in which it had introduced cutbacks last autumn.

Health unions had argued that, if confidence in the HSE was to be restored, management would have to implement outstanding agreements.

Unions are to set out details of all the agreements affecting their members which they maintain have not been implemented, including some brokered by the Labour Relations Commission and Labour Court. It is understood that 15 to 20 of the agreements cited yesterday related to staffing issues involving nurses.