Cutbacks bite in Tullamore hospital as 15 beds closed

Ward and department amalgamations also planned as €7m overspend predicted A number of wards are being amalgamated at the Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore, and 15 beds are to close this fortnight, in a bid to save millions of euro. According to an internal memo seen by the Offaly Independent, the HSE has decided to amalgamate all orthopaedic wards with a reduction of four beds from last Monday June 29, while the ENT and General Surgery Departments will be amalgamated with a net reduction of 11 beds from next Monday July 6. 'A maximum' of three main theatres and one side theatre will stay open over the summer. Any staff taking holidays will also not be replaced. HSE management told a meeting of health service unions on June 16 that unless 'appropriate corrective interventions' were taken now, the hospital would go over budget by a projected €7 million by the end of this year. 'This approach, will have a twin objective in that staff will be facilitated with annual leave during the peak holiday period while at the same time there will not be a requirement for the same level of locums/relief/temporary staff,' said the memo. The purpose of the June meeting was to 'appraise and consult' with staff about the 'difficult budgetary challenges' facing the hospital. According to the HSE memo there are 1,052.43 staff working in Tullamore hospital (the wholetime equivalent). The 'current approved employment ceiling' is 999.87. In a statement released to the Offaly Independent on Wednesday evening, the HSE said that demand for services reduces over the summer period, because patients take summer holidays and hospitals 'historically effect bed closures' during the summer months. 'This allows some opportunity to bring budget spend into line with allocation and Service Plan levels,' said the HSE statement. No timescale for the ending of the cutbacks was given. The HSE said Tullamore hospital has exceeded its service plan targets up to end of May of this year. A total of 14,800 day case and in-patient procedures have been carried out at the hospital, compared to 13,500 for the same period last year, an increase of 10%. 'The HSE wish to emphasise that all patients needing treatment will be treated. There will be no reduction in the number of cancer patients treated at the hospital and intensive care beds are unaffected,' said the statement. The HSE will continue to monitor performance against budget and service plan on a month by month basis and make decisions accordingly based on these assessments, ended the statement. The closure of 15 beds follows on from the closure of beds in both the surgical and orthopedics, according to a hospital source. The source said that many patients will end up on trolleys in casualty and traditionally patients from the Medical ward would often end up in ENT beds. With less beds available, staff will be under pressure to send home patients earlier. The ENT ward is a speciality in the Tullamore Hospital according to the HSE website. There is no Otolaryngology wards in the other Midlands Hospitals of Portlaoise and Mullingar.