MORE THAN €100 million has been generated in savings in the health service under the provisions of the Croke Park agreement since it was negotiated a year ago, a senior HSE executive has said.
Speaking following an address to the Impact health and welfare divisional conference in Tralee yesterday, HSE national director for human resources Seán McGrath said savings in the health service accounted for approximately half of all those generated under the Croke Park agreement throughout the public service.
He estimated that between March 2010 and March 2011 over €100 million had been made in savings. In 2011 some €90 million in ongoing savings would be realised as a result of the Government’s moratorium on recruitment.
The comments represented the first public estimation of figures for savings under the Croke Park agreement by a senior public service manager. The first review of savings under the agreement is currently under way, and a report is expected to be given to the Government within weeks.
Mr McGrath told delegates he could confidently say the Croke Park agreement was working in the health service.
“Employment numbers have reduced by over 4,000 in the period March 2010 to March 2011, the transfer of the community welfare service, the agreement of the laboratory modernisation, and the implementation of very significant redeployment right across our system are but a few important deliverables that show that change is happening.”
He said a crucial part of the savings had come from the Government moratorium on recruitment and on the filling of vacancies. This had created difficulties right across the system.
“It is a process that requires some flexibility in its application in the healthcare environment, but given its financial challenges this is always a very difficult process.”
Mr McGrath also signalled the HSE would be looking at further reforms. It was looking to develop new models of care, team structures and organisation arrangements in key services such as primary care and childcare. These would impact on a range of professionals, including social workers, clerical staff, allied health professionals and others.
He said that having clinical leadership and consultant decision-makers available on five days out of every seven or on a seven-day basis was “absolutely crucial for where we are going”.
Following criticism from delegates over the way the recent voluntary redundancy and early retirement scheme was implemented in the HSE, Mr McGrath said the Government had set down the timescale involved and had specified the groups that were to be allowed to leave.
He also signalled he would like to see future schemes organised in a different way. “Any time you have to ensure that a scheme is closed off in the time period we were talking of, eight weeks in the run-up to Christmas, it is always going to be very difficult.”