Scrapping HSE risks ‘going back to the future’
The Government is facing claims of going “back to the future” by announcing plans to scrap the overarching HSE and replace it with six regional health structures which mirror the health boards ditched 15 years ago.
Irish Patients’ Association (IPA) chairman Stephen McMahon and opposition parties made the claim, saying the new plan could also see regional differences in care standards, despite backing the overall reform plan.
In a long-flagged move that was initially proposed as part of the cross-party Sláintecare plan, Health Minister Simon Harris will ask permission from Cabinet tomorrow to make drastic changes to the existing health service.
Under the current system, the health service is run by a single overarching body, with different local “hospital groups” and “community healthcare organisations” providing more joined-up care at regional level.
As part of the new proposals, which will begin to be implemented over the coming months, the existing system will be replaced with the creation of six new “regional health structures”.
They will be based in Dublin, Leinster, the North West, the Mid West, the South West, and the South East.
While they will work in tandem with existing hospital groups and community healthcare organisations, these new regional health structures are intended to increase transparency, reduce bureaucracy, and ensure better joined-up care at local level.
However, while welcoming the proposals likely to go before Cabinet tomorrow, the Irish Patients’ Association and opposition parties said there is a genuine concern the plan will just repeat the mistakes of the pre-HSE health boards — and potentially see care levels differ region by region.
“In theory, this should work — I support it, Fianna Fáil supports it, the Oireachtas supports it. But we need more doctors and nurses and other clinicians, and this isn’t going to do that,” Fianna Fáil health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly told Newstalk.
We have the lowest level of consultants per capita anywhere in Europe, so it’s not going to help with that. We need less layers of bureaucracy — if this is done right, it will help with that.
“But really what matters to people is two things; will it improve access to the healthcare system, and it has to be affordable,” he said.
IPA chairman Stephen McMahon similarly told Newstalk that while the plan itself is welcome, it risks moving the system into a “back to the future” situation where, if not handled properly, it could result in the same pre-HSE problems.
While backing the plan for a more “autonomous” regional system, Mr McMahon added that “there will be concerns about a unified approach in each area” which could result in some regions having better care standards than others.
It is widely expected the plan will receive unanimous backing from the Cabinet tomorrow, with plans to begin changing the existing system likely to begin in the coming months.
Mr Harris has previously stressed the need to overhaul the HSE system, which has been repeatedly criticised for becoming too bureaucratic and failing to ensure transparency and joined-up services for people in need of care.
