Health service senior management told the country’s largest hospice it would accept cuts to services “if necessary” to ensure it broke even in its budget last year, according to board meeting minutes.
Ms Houlihan told a June board meeting that break-even was “not achievable”, but the HSE “require a report on service closures to meet a break-even position”. HSE management has avoided publicly stating healthcare providers should cut or close services in order to meet demands to stay within budgets.
Despite the initial doubts, the hospice did achieve a break-even budget last year. This was in part due to a €600,000 cut in HSE funding for older persons’ services being split over three years, rather than being applied in full last year. This reduced the budgetary hole to be filled through savings by over €360,000. Other cost-saving measures included “a decrease in pay costs by reducing spend on overtime and agency staff,” and delaying a “range of minor capital works,” a spokeswoman for the hospice said. Commenting on the suggestion services could be cut if necessary in order to break even, a HSE spokeswoman said the hospice’s final cost-saving plan did not include service cuts. “All HSE-funded services are required to deliver the quantity of services within their financial allocation as set out in the national service plan,” she said. Amid the efforts to reduce spending, a funding shortfall of €700,000 emerged last December in a project to build a hospice in Wicklow.Last month Our Lady’s Hospice opened a new €10 million hospice in Wicklow, over half of which was financed by fundraising from the, which counts actor Daniel Day-Lewis as a patron. The remainder of the funding was sourced through a multimillion bank loan, and €2 million provided by the State. However, just weeks before the new hospice was due to open, the board of Our Lady’s Hospice was informed the project had a budget shortfall of €700,000-€1 million, due to additional charges. The Wicklow foundation was €350,000 short of a €600,000 fundraising target, minutes of a December board meeting show. “The directors noted that it was extremely disappointing and surprising to be advised of a funding shortfall so late in the development,” which was completed in January, and will begin taking patients in April. A spokeswoman said the final shortfall amounted to €700,000 and was “due to a shortfall in anticipated fundraising income and increased build costs”, and Our Lady’s Hospice had covered the funding gap by giving a loan to the Wicklow Hospice Foundation. “It is anticipated that with strong local support, future fundraising from the area will cover this payment when the service is open,” the spokeswoman said.
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