Concerns over funding shortfall for Tipperary University Hospital raised in the Dáil

Concerns have been raised in the Dáil that there will not be adequate funding to cover the shortfall for existing levels of service at Tipperary University Hospital. 

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Martin Browne said: I raise this question in light of the fact that €708 million in funding has been allocated for existing levels of service in 2024. That is less than half the shortfall identified for 2023, and that is even before covering other pressures in 2024 as a carry-over and demographics and pay.

"I would like to know where Tipperary University Hospital fits into the terms of this and the impact on any new developments taking place there and the maintenance of existing levels of service," Deputy Browne said. 

Acknowledging the work that Tipperary University Hospital does, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the hospital has "gone from strength to strength in serving the needs of the population".

The Minister for Health said there has been: "a very big increase in the amount going into the hospital from the Government, and rightly so. In fact, the budget has gone up nearly 30% since 2019". 

This funding has helped the hospital to hire an additional 270 healthcare professionals, who are making a big difference in the care being delivered, Minister Donnelly outlined.

"I am delighted that the additional capital investment in the hospital will provide an extra 33 inpatient beds in the newly developed unit. This new unit is planned to reduce the number of patients who end up on trolleys in the emergency department. That will also help the hospital to reconfigure beds internally and give the older people of Tipperary, who make up nearly half of all inpatients there, greater access to inpatient services at the hospital," Minister Donnelly said. 

"Additional funding specific to the hospital will be determined through the ongoing process. I will shortly issue a letter of determination to the HSE. It will then develop a detailed national service plan for consideration. That will be where we will see its proposals on a hospital-by-hospital basis in terms of the level activity and, therefore, requisite funding to be allocated," Minister Donnelly said.

However, Deputy Browne responded that it was "beyond unacceptable, at a time the pressure on all our hospitals is at its greatest, that the hospital is now faced with tightening its belt even further, with the added complication of it being unsure precisely what the impacts of the cuts will be".

He said the year began with a total of 2,467 scheduled care cancellations and, as the year progressed, the hospital has been continuing to deal with the increase in presentations and admissions.

The hospital is currently working at 100%, Deputy Browne said, and staff there "being forced to operate in that manner is unfair on them given the pressure they are under".

"It also poses issues for patients because it presents little room for any manoeuvre in those situations. The uncertainty with the funding just adds extra pressure that neither staff or patients should be under. Currently, the hospital has a small number of projects, which the Minister will be aware of, that are working through the capital steering process. Can I get a guarantee that those will not be affected as a result of the shortfall in funding?" Deputy Browne said.

"Any projects working their way through the process will be assessed on a project-by-project basis, as they always have been," Minister Donnelly said. 

He said more and better health services are being provided in Tipperary. 

Minister Donnelly added: "The story of healthcare in Tipperary, while we have a long way to go, as we do across the country, is one of progress and of our healthcare professionals providing more and more and better services to the people of the county". 

Deputy Browne said the hospital has acknowledged to him that the recruitment freeze has the potential to have a negative impact on patient care.

"The longer the freeze and the more money the Department takes out of the system - and the recruitment freeze itself is adding pressure on the system as it is - the more likely it is at some stage to collapse. How does a recruitment freeze on healthcare workers in the community square with the role of taking pressure off our emergency department?" Deputy Browne said.