Health audit reveals that boards had overspent by ?115m

HEALTH boards spent ?115m of taxpayers money without permission, a special report by the Comptroller and Auditor General revealed yesterday. The health boards spent the money on capital projects and bought new equipment without the permission of the Department of Health in 2002. The department was then left with no choice but to reimburse the boards and to fund capital commitments of which it had been previously unaware, the report said. The report on general matters arising out of financial audits of bodies in the health sector by Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, published yesterday revealed that all health boards had entered into unauthorised commitments that year because of increased expectations arising out of the new Government health strategy in 2001. The boards had funded the spending using revenue drawn down from the department on a 'bridging' basis. However the boards defended their decision, saying all projects undertaken had been necessary and had been carried out in accordance with established procedures of the board, adding that all the projects had been included in their NDP programmes, approved by the board and submitted to the Department in 2000. The two biggest culprits in unauthorised spending were the North Eastern Health Board, which had ?25.39m in unapproved capital expenditure reimbursed and the Southern Health Board with ?24.59m. The Comptroller said that by December 31, 2002, the health boards had drawn down ?77m of the agreed reimbursements from the department - which had been able to fund the expenditure from its 2002 overall 'capital envelope' because it had identified the problem earlier in the year and had planned accordingly. In February 2002, the department had instructed the boards not to enter into any more capital commitments without prior written approval.Meanwhile the health boards are set to take legal advice as to whether they are entitled to the interest on money held by them on behalf of elderly and infirm patients. The boards had administered funds to a total value of ?17.4m on behalf of patients at the end of 2001, a special report by the Comptroller and Auditor General has found. Some health boards levy a charge on accounts held by them in patients' private property, while others retain the interest earned on the account. From 1999 to 2001, health boards made ?2.5m in investment interest on patients' money and another ?1.8m in direct administration charges. The Comptroller's report revealed that hospitals regularly safekeep money and personal possessions, such as jewellery, that patients have with them on admission to hospital. The property is administered by the hospitals as a service to patients, such as those who are not in a position to do this themselves, or who are unable to appoint a family member or friend to act on their behalf. The report also states that the actual number of staff employed in the health sector remains unknown because of a lack of reliable information and time lags in collecting and collating employment data, a report on the health sector has revealed. Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell said that from 1995 onwards, he has found a 'lack of reconciliation' between numbers of staff recorded on personnel records and the numbers included on payrolls. However the Accounting Officer was satisfied the unapproved staff were not a significant cause of financial pressures for the health service and were accommodated within existing approved funding. The report also stated that 6,128 extra nurses were recruited between 1995 and 2002.But in the same seven years an extra 7,786 managers were taken on.

Three men who raided tombs for jewellery remanded

THREE men who broke open tombs and interfered with corpses in a drunken search for jewellery were last night remanded in custody to await sentence in early December. Judge Carroll Moran told Tralee Circuit Criminal Court that it was "a shocking offence, offensive to any sense of decency". The three accused - Alan McNulty (29) of Moreen Road, Sandyford, Dublin; Matthew O'Donnell (24) of Aughills, Castlemaine, and no fixed abode; and John Smith (32) of Moreen Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin - had pleaded guilty. They are accused of damaging the tombs of Cyril McEnery and Timothy Browne at Raheala graveyard, Ballyduff, on the night of August 8 2003. They admitted disturbing the remains of Bridie Fitzmaurice, who had died eight months previously, and Jack Browne, who died in 1998. Smith also pleaded guilty to damaging the tomb of the late Bridie Fitzmaurice. The charge of disturbing bodies had not been before the courts since 1880 in London, the district court was told. Sergeant Brendan Sheehan said coffin lids had been prised open and the shrouds over the remains pulled back. He said the three admitted they had been "out of their heads" on drink and e-tablets and said they were looking for jewellery. The hurt it had caused to the deceased families had been "immense", Judge Moran said, and he offered his sympathy and condolences to the families of the bereaved. He remanded the three in custody until December 7. Two others had been dealt with under the juvenile liaison scheme in relation to the offences. - Anne Luceyin Tralee