Some 18 hospitals across the State have had their 2004 budgets cut by a total of over €7 million as a result of inefficiencies.
Among the worst hit are two Dublin hospitals - St Vincent's, which loses €1.2 million, and James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown, which has seen its budget cut by over €1 million.
The deductions, which also affect St James's Hospital, Dublin, and Tullamore General Hospital - both of which have been penalised to the tune of over half a million euro - are outlined in figures released last evening by the Department of Health. The amounts are deducted under a system called casemix which rewards efficient hospitals and penalises inefficient ones.
Factors taken into account include their throughput of patients and the average length of stay of patients. Money taken from inefficient hospitals is redistributed among more efficient ones. The Department of Health allocates 20 per cent of hospital funding on the basis of the casemix model.
According to the figures, Galway's University College Hospital is one of the most efficient in the State. For its efforts it has received the biggest single reward, an extra €2.2 million added to its budget this year.
Also rewarded was Letterkenny General Hospital with an extra €998,889, while Sligo General got an additional €65,978. Mullingar Hospital got €716,976 while Cavan General Hospital got an additional €747,973. It has had to treat more patients since the controversial scaling back of activities at Monaghan General Hospital.
In the south east the major hospital, in Waterford, was also rewarded with an extra €356,317 added to its 2004 budget.
In the eastern region, the only hospitals to fare well included the Mater (+€344,156), Beaumont (+€526,012), Tallaght (+€26,343) and two of the maternity hospitals, the Rotunda and the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street, which got over €25,000 extra each.
The Coombe, however, lost over €52,000 from its budget.
Major hospitals outside Dublin to have been penalised include Limerick Regional (-€468,650), Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda (-€88,950), Cork University Hospital (-€253,820), Tralee General Hospital (-€330,208) and Mayo General Hospital (-€728,063).