Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 13 Jun 2001

Vol. 538 No. 1

Written Answers. - General Medical Services Scheme.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

178 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the administration costs of the general medical services scheme; the costs of the funding of hospitals and the running of health boards in monetary terms and as a percentage of total costs. [17416/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The figures requested by the Deputy are shown in the tabular statement. These figures have been extracted from the annual financial statements of the health boards. The 1999 figures for the Eastern Health Board, North-Eastern Health Board and South-Eastern Health Board are unaudited. However, it is unlikely that these figures will change significantly on audit.

The grade category of management-adminis trative also includes staff who are of direct service to patients, such as consultants' secretaries, community welfare officers, out-patient department personnel, ward clerks, medical records personnel and telephonists who are engaged in front line duties.

It is important to note that the purpose of many of the staff classified as management-administrative is to support front line professionals in carrying out their duties more efficiently. Health professionals, especially consultants and nurse managers, require clerical support and request such appointments on an ongoing basis. The strengthening of the accountability of health boards in the context of the accountability legislation of 1996 has led to the strengthening of finance departments also. In addition, improvements in risk management, human resource management and health and safety practices have contributed to a growth in the management-administrative area.

Agency	Administra-tion Costs	Gross Expenditure	Administra-tion as a % of Exp.
	£000	£000	%
Health Boards*	128,691	2,639,730	4.9
GMS(Payments)Board	7,400	375,100	2.0

*Both the gross and administration amounts for health boards for 1999 include a 14 month expenditure figure in respect of the Eastern Health Board.

With regard to the information requested by the Deputy in relation to the voluntary hospitals, this information is currently being collected by my Department and will be forwarded to the Deputy at the earliest opportunity.