Tallaght hospital spent its annual budget by September and needs another €51 million to get to the end of the year, it has told the Health Service Executive.
The HSE is providing the hospital with an additional €21.6 million provided it draws up a sustainability plan. This is in addition to the €12 million overdraft provided by AIB this year to mitigate the hospital’s crisis.
The sustainability plan covers the rest of this year and 2013, while a medium-term plan is also being drafted to bring the hospital’s finances back into line.
A spokeswoman for Tallaght Hospital expressed confidence that it would secure additional funding from the HSE once the plan had been completed. The money was needed to cover everyday running costs such as wages and fuel bills.
Tallaght had a deficit of €11.2 million at the end of August, according to HSE figures. Last year its budget overrun was €14 million. The spokeswoman said its deficit this year would be less than last year.
Latest HSE figures show the State’s hospitals are more than €200 million in debt collectively, accounting for about half of the overall deficit in the health service.
