HSE to stop treating patients who are too ill to notice
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is planning to abandon the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in an effort to save up to €400 million annually.
Senior HSE staff have been seeking cost-cutting measures that will have the least negative impact on the public. “We have realised that some of our work is actually pointless and we are trying to address that,” a source said.
“Alzheimer’s care is the perfect example. What is the point in spending good money treating people who don’t even know they are ill? This is a no-brainer,” he added.
The source said a committee of experts would draw up a list of patient groups who might not notice if their treatment ceased. “Alzheimer’s is a starting point but we believe there are many patient groups who are too ill to notice if we stop treating them.”
“If this doesn’t result in sufficient savings we have a back-up plan to prescribe gentle exercise and tranquil music to patients who present with expensive illnesses such as cancer,” he continued.
The HSE had also considered cutting staff salaries, benefits, bonuses or allowances to curb costs but decided that would be inappropriate and unfair.
God you’re bitter….