14 hours ago
Hospital activity 'falls behind' investment
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to tell the Select Committee on Health that activity in the health service is not keeping pace with investment.
New hospital productivity data, to be discussed at the hearing, will indicate that over the past five years, investment in real expenditure in hospitals has risen by around 36% above inflation.
This includes an average increase of 18% more staff.
In her first appearance before the committee, Minister MacNeill will say that at the same time, activity in hospitals - inpatient care, day cases, outpatients and emergency department presentations - have increased by on average 12% over the same time period.
"This shows that activity on average has fallen behind investment. This average also masks considerable variation in performance," she will say in her opening address.
The new data is from the Productivity & Savings Task Force.
Medical and health unions have repeatedly made the case that the service needs more beds and staff, that activity in specific hospitals is also affected by the age profile and population served, the specialties covered and referrals to major hospitals from smaller ones.
Hospital overcrowding also means at times that planned operations must be cancelled due to beds being occupied by admissions, from emergency departments, which affects hospitals in terms of individual performance.
Medical inflation - the specific rise in healthcare costs - is also different to general inflation.
The new data to be presented today says that in the case of one major hospital - a Model 4 centre - it only saw a 3% increase in overall activity, from a 36% rise in workforce and a real expenditure increase of 42%.
In contrast, another Model 4 hospital saw a 22% increase in overall activity from a 40% rise in the workforce and a 46% increase in real expenditure.
Minister MacNeill will say that she has a higher expectation of performance in return for public investment and that the new data shows differences in performance across hospital sites, between specialties and within sites.
But she will also note that in the last year, there has been a reduction in patients on waiting lists waiting over 12 months and a reduction in average waiting times, and that trolley numbers have reduced.
The committee will hear that a recent IMF efficiency benchmarking review found that Ireland's health system is inefficient compared to other countries with good outcomes but high costs.
It estimated that up to 15% of expenditure could be saved while maintaining life expectancy.
The committee will discuss the spending plan for the health budget for this year of over €25 billion.
