SIPTU threatens to resist proposed hospital cutbacks

Management at University College Hospital in Galway (UCHG) was warned that it faces serious confrontation over proposed staff lay-offs and bed closures after it failed to resolve its differences with nursing union representatives again last night.

SIPTU, which represents 200 nursing and over 700 non-nursing staff at the hospital, threatened to physically resist the closures after walking out of discussions with Health Board officials, leaving the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO), with over 400 members at UCHG, to continue negotiations. The senior INO representative in Galway, Ms Claire Treacy, said that nurses at the hospital were distressed that the two unions were not taking a joint approach to the dispute.

But the branch secretary of SIPTU, Mr Michael Kilcoyne, reiterated the view of his union that they would not accept ward or theatre closures.

Ms Treacy said last night that it was agreed by all parties that SIPTU and management would hold discussions without the INO.

She added that any agreement that might arise from the talks would have to go to a ballot to the INO members at the hospital, before returning to talks with Western Health Board (WHB) management late last night.

Meanwhile the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) has renewed its request to meet the WHB chief executive officer, Dr Sheelagh Ryan, in the continuing dispute.

Dr David Lillis, IHCA president and consultant paediatrician at UCHG, repeated his request for a meeting yesterday. Dr Lillis has warned of his concerns for the safety of patients in the hospital, and has emphasised the national dimension to the proposed bed closures at the hospital. Yesterday, the IHCA deferred comment on the compromise proposal put forward by the WHB, which was presented to unions in continuing talks with management yesterday evening. The compromise was to close one ward instead of two, until the New Year.

The cuts were defended earlier this week by the health board CEO, Dr Ryan, who said that the short-term closures could help to avoid a more serious and painful situation next year. The hospital was running at £1.7 million over budget, and the cuts would reduce this to about £500,000, she said.

The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, has already made it clear that he will not intervene in the dispute, due to the legal obligation on health boards to manage their annual budgets.