Consultants say significant scope to cut administrative staffing levels in hospitals

Hospital consultants have said there is significant scope for the Government to reduce the number of administrative and management staff in the health service and to realign funding to frontline and mental health services.

In a pre-Budget submission published today, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said continued underfunding was placing patient care in public hospitals under threat.

It said budgets needed to reflect increased acute hospital activity and realistic projections of future demand. Among the key proposals is a realignment of resources towards frontline services.

It said there were currently 15,715 staff employed in management and administration positions in the health service, and 2,530 consultants: a ratio of 6.2 administrators and managers for every consultant. In the UK, the ratio is 3:1.

There had been “a negligible reduction” in expenditure on pay for administrative and managerial staff, of €4 million between 2011 and 2012.

The IHCA said, in the context of ongoing restructuring of the health service , there was “significant scope to reduce the number of staff employed in management and administration”.