Management proposals to effect budget savings of €9.5m at Sligo General Hospital before the end of the year will 'totally decimate' services there, local trade union leaders have warned.

Although it was widely anticipated that severe cost cutting measures would be implemented over the coming months in order to cope with a worsening budget situation, local unions were shocked at the extent of the proposals outlined to them in a series of meetings on Monday last.

The controversil proposals include reducing contracts for temporary workers across all grades to just eight hours a week, a move which unions warn will lead to further bed closures, longer waiting lists for surgery as well as seriously impacting on the full range of services currently provided in the hospital.

Following presentations by senior hospital management to a number of trade unions on Monday last, the INMO, which represents more than 500 nurses at the hospital, said it had grave concerns about the hospital's ability to cope with an ever increasing demand for its services if the budgetary proposals were implemented.

The cost containment measures outlined to the unions included a reduction in temporary staff across all grades, reducing contracts to eight hours per week. According to the INMO, this equates to the loss of eleven nurses between now and the end of the year. All other temporary employees, such as clerical and support staff, will also have their working time reduced to eight hours a week.

"It amounts to constructive dismissal, because what employee will hang around here to work eight hours a week. Nobody could live on that level of income. The net result is that we will have less nurses in a situation where we are already understaffed," Sligo-based INMO vicePresident, Ann McGowan told THE SLIGO CHAMPION.

"The question is how do we staff the services. It's not as if there is less activity in the hospital. Actually, there is in an increase in the number of patients coming in the door and an increased demand in the emergency department

"We believe it will be impossible to cope in those circumstances and services at the hospital will be simply decimated."

She also predicted that planned reductions in elective surgery would lead to much longer waiting lists.

Saying that her union delegation was extremely disappointed by the lack of specific information available at Monday's briefing, Ms. McGowan said they would now be consulting all of their members before deciding what action to take.

"We have to protect our members' jobs, but equally important, we want to protect the services provided in the hospital, because we have lost enough already.

"It was very disappointing to find that none of our specific questions could be answered. It seems the HSE is concerned only with budgets. The mantra is we must break even, but the quality of patient care or the service that the hospital is expected to provide to the public wasn't on the agenda at all," she added.

Pointing out that the hospital had overspent by €5m last year and that now, in the seventh month of the year, they had to deal with further cuts of €9.5 million, she said staff and patients were paying a high price for poor houskeeping by the HSE.

"There is clearly a problem with budgetary matters, but front line staff are not responsible for that. Yet, it is the statf and, more important, the general public who are paying a high price," she said.

- JIM GRAY