NI health trusts prepare to make £70m savings
Northern Ireland's five health trust are preparing to make savings of around £70m to ensure they break even during this financial year.
Trust bosses have called Extraordinary Meetings next week to discuss their plans.
Janice Smyth from the Royal College of Nursing said: “The problem with this is every time we do this they are short term savings plans and actually in the long term they cost money for many different reasons.
“Some cuts that we made for example to the number of nurses we train are causing us severe difficulties now.”
Health is never far from the headlines. Despite an annual budget of more than £5bn, the money simply doesn't go far enough.
Still, Northern Ireland's five health trusts are legally obliged to break even each year. They now have less than seven months to make savings of £70m.
At the start of the year the health service was in the red to the tune of around £300m
Some of that gap was plugged by £150m distributed by the secretary of state, and a further £60m from the June monitoring round - when government under-spend is reallocated.
All politicians agree the health service needs transformed but are at odds as to why we're in this situation.
The DUP MLA Christopher Stalford said: “Vital reforms of the health service were proposed in the Bengoa report - the minister responsible for the implementation of that report was Michelle O’Neil.
“She more than anyone knows the strain the health service is under.
“That’s why I would have thought her first priority would be to get a government up and running in order that we can implement the much-needed reforms and ensure the money is being spent directly on patient care.”
Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey said: “If those parties are prepared to recommit themselves to delivering what’s been agreed then we can have an Executive up and running very quickly.
“We do agree that heath is a major priority and I would remind people that Michelle O’Neill herself was the last health minister, who made sterling efforts to get to grips with the overall need to reform the health system.”
In a statement, a Department of Health spokesperson said: "Trusts have been tasked by the Department to develop draft plans to deliver their share of a total of £70m of savings in 2017/18.
"The Department has advised the Trusts to consult on their savings proposals in line with the Department's policy guidance on public consultations."
Next Thursday, each health trust will hold their board meetings in public.
In what is already described as extraordinary,anyone wanting to make submissions must write to the trusts by Tuesday.
Anything that is proposed will have to go out for public consultation - a chance for everyone in Northern Ireland to have their say on what they feel must be protected over the coming months.