Productivity in health fails to match spend

• Published date: 15 April 2024
• Author: MARTIN WALL
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

The data, showing the growth in hospital activity is lagging considerably behind the level of State investment, is expected to be used by the Government to make the case for addressing productivity challenges

The report drawn up by personnel in the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service and the Department of Health says the health budget has risen from €13.7 billon in 2014 to €22.8 billion in 2024 and that more than 50,000 additional healthcare staff have been employed.

However, it says, “our analysis shows the large divergence present in all sites between the expenditure and workforce provided, relative to the growth in either separate activity metrics or ‘composite’ activity“. The latter is an aggregate for inpatient, day-case, outpatient and emergency activity, weighted by unit costs for each area.

“In most cases, the divergence is significant, with the percentage growth in composite activity between 2016 and 2022 either negative, or two times behind workforce growth, and up to three times behind real expenditure growth over the same period,” the report says.

In a foreword, Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt and HSE chief Bernard Gloster describe the...