HOSPITALS IN Mullingar, Wexford and Letterkenny have been rewarded with increased funding by the HSE as a result of efficiencies that have been measured.
At the same time some 18 hospitals across the State are to have their budgets cut by more than €10.5 million next year as a penalty for inefficiencies. This money will be redistributed to the hospitals that have achieved measurable efficiencies.
Figures obtained by The Irish Timesshow the hospital worst affected is Dublin's Tallaght hospital, which has been hit with a €2.3 million penalty.
Two other hospitals have also each had their budgets cut by just over €1 million. They are Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.
The amounts are deducted by the Department of Health under a system called "casemix" that penalises inefficient hospitals and rewards efficient ones.
Factors taken into account include their throughput of patients and the cost of treating patients with similar conditions in different hospitals.
The gains and losses for hospitals under the casemix system are always calculated on the basis of their performance more than a year ago. Therefore, the latest adjustments are based on how hospitals performed in 2007.
Tallaght, which was not commenting on its performance yesterday, was also the worst hit under casemix in the past year. While the latest figures indicate it did well in terms of its emergency department and outpatient department performance, it was penalised for its inpatient and daycare performance.
The hospital to gain most from the redistributed money next year is the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, which is to have its budget boosted by €1.9 million. This hospital has been named as one of the most efficient hospitals under the casemix system each year for the past number of years.
Wexford General Hospital has also been rewarded under casemix for 2009, when it will have €1.2 million added to its budget.
The other most efficient hospitals in the State, in terms of the monetary rewards they will receive next year under casemix, include Letterkenny General Hospital, which will have an extra €953,515, St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny which gets an extra €910,912, and St James's Hospital in Dublin which will see an additional €869,542 next year.
Ironically, Letterkenny General Hospital, which has been criticised many times for leaving patients on waiting lists for months rather than referring them to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, is the third best performing hospital in the State under the casemix system.
Adjustments to other hospitals' budgets include: Cork University Hospital (+€669,515); Kerry General Hospital (+€592,521); Croom Hospital (+€585,569); Louth County Hospital (+€490,207); Beaumont Hospital (+€468,534); Mater Hospital (+€331,635); University College Hospital Galway (+€323,154); Mayo General Hospital (+€310,467); Rotunda (+€199,263); Waterford Regional Hospital (+€197,757); Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown (+€83,122); Holles Street (+€27,113); Temple Street (+€5,839); Navan Hospital (-€939,516); Limerick Regional (-€839,366); St Vincent's Hospital (-€442,023); the Coombe (-€226,376); and Crumlin Hospital (-€5,839).