Vital jobs in hospices caring for dying adults and children are not being filled, an Oireachtas committee heard today.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children was told that fewer than half of the 130 approved positions in hospices from 2006 to 2007 have actually been appointed.
The Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Association of Palliative Care and the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) have jointly written to Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney urging her to instruct the HSE to apply the funds and the associated posts in the budgets of 2006, 2007 and 2008 “for the purpose for which they were intended”.
The organisations have also asked Ms Harney to facilitate an urgent meeting with HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm to resolve the issue.
But IHF chief executive Eugene Murray, who was before the committee today, said the bodies were “gravely concerned” that funding set aside for hospice care is in danger of being diverted to other areas.
“On many occasions when we queried the delay in filling posts, we were assured by senior HSE management that there was no danger of these funds and posts being lost in future budgets. These assurances have unfortunately not been honoured,” he said.
Mr Murray said the actions of the HSE were undermining the Government’s stated commitment to the development of hospice and palliative care.
“It would be invidious if resources which were allocated by the Minister for Health and Children, approved by the Department of Finance and later voted by the Dáil were surreptitiously applied for other purposes by the HSE. The approved front-line positions in hospice/palliative care must be protected and not diverted to cover deficits in other areas.”
According to the hospice services, some €21 million was allocated over the past three budgets for front line staff in hospice/palliative care services.
The funding was approved for a range of posts including consultants, non-consultant hospital doctors and nurses, as well as for health professionals including physiotherapists and social workers.
Some €9 million was allocated in the 2006 budget for 60 posts and another €9 million for 70 posts in the 2007 budget. In the 2008 budget, €3 million was allocated for 47 approved positions, the bodies say.
The HSE today said “significant ongoing resources” are being provided for palliative care services by statutory and voluntary palliative care providers across the country on an annual basis.
The body said it would invest a further €3 million this year towards palliative services and recruit more than 40 more staff.
The HSE also noted that a five-year plan for developing palliative care services is being completed by it, with significant involvement from the voluntary sector.
This plan will provide for revenue and capital investment to ensure equitable provision of services across the State, the HSE said.