The Health Service Executive has announced severe cutbacks in the Western region in order to reign in its budgetary deficit for this year.
It’s accelerating its programme of cuts in a bid to trim 12 million euro a month off its deficit until the end of the year.
It plans to cut 7,000 temporary staff hours a week, and to introduce new controls on absenteeism, sick leave and student nurse numbers.
It also intends to implement changes to rostering.
The HSE says its already managed to get its over-run down to just under 50 million from a projected deficit of 130 million, and is also stressing that no hospitals in the region will close.
However, Galway Surgeon John Mc Cabe says the cuts will affect patients…..
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