The President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association Dr David O'Keeffe has hit out at the Health Service Executive (HSE) over recent cutbacks it has itroduced.
Speaking at the IHCA annual conference today, Dr O'Keeffe said the decision to extend a recruitment freeze to meet the HSE's annual budget have exposed the "big disconnect" between the Department of Health and the HSE.
"In assuming responsibility for the finances of the HSE the CEO has either settled for an inadequate budget from the start or has mismanaged the resources at his disposal."
He said there were numerous examples of the misuse of resources in the health service throughout the country.
"The HSE's continues to rent hotels to interview middle managers in Sligo, while front-line clinical staff are dismissed, now we have the insult of the co-located hotels for patients in Dublin."