New Irish health strategy

New Irish health strategyKeywords:Investment, Reform, Strategy, Action plan

In November, Quality and Fairness, a new Health Strategy for Ireland for the next seven to ten years was announced. The new strategy was described by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, as a programme of investment and reform, starting immediately and stretching over the next decade.

In the short term, the Strategy provides the largest bed capacity expansion in the history of the health service. A total of 650 new beds will come on stream in the next 12 months, all designated for public patients.

A new treatment purchase fund will buy treatment for public patients waiting more than three months from initial referral, so that:

• by the end of 2002, no adult will wait more than 12 months, no child more than six, for treatment;

• by the end of 2003, no adult will wait more than six months, no child more than three;

• by the end of 2004, no public patient will wait more than three months.

People with disabilities will also gain from the immediate measures in the Strategy, with the addition of significant day care places, respite care places and residential capacity. The number of GP co-operatives will expand during 2002.

The new Strategy, based on four principles: Equity, People-centredness,Quality, and Accountability, includes measures to ensure fair access to services. Minister Micheál Martin said:

Up to now, parents of a child with a disability had to find their way through the services available for their child. It's been like trying to link up islands of service. In future, there will be Key Workers in every health board for children with disabilities, to link the islands of service for the child and the child's parents.

The ageing of Ireland is central to the Strategy. Older people have been worst affected by long waiting-lists for procedures that could contribute to their independence and overall wellbeing. The Strategy cuts those waiting lists and shortens the time between referral and treatment. It plans the recruitment of a multi-disciplinary range of staff to develop primary care services for older people, including, over time:

• 7,000 additional day centre places;

• increased funding for aids and appliances in people's homes;

• 1,370 additional assessment and rehabilitation beds;

• additional geriatricians in the acute geriatric medical services;

• 600 additional day places covering specialist areas like falls, osteoporosis treatment, fracture prevention, Parkinson's Disease, stroke prevention, heart failure and continence promotion clinics.

The Strategy's first co-ordinated Action Plan on Age will be developed by the Department of Health and Children in conjunction with the Departments of the Environment and Local Government, Social, Community and Family Affairs, and Public Enterprise. Key Workers will be put in place to ensure "joined-up"services for older people.

There will also be a statutory Complaints procedure, so that patients have a clear way to have complaints formally dealt with, and an extension of the role of the Ombudsman to cover voluntary hospitals and other areas within the health service.

An independent Health Information and Quality Authority will be established before the end of 2002 to drive quality right throughout the system.

At the launch of the Strategy, the Minister stressed that a breakdown of the actions needed to make the Strategy a reality is included in the document. A total of 121 specific individual actions are promised and, herever possible, a deadline for delivery of that action is provided.

Information about the new strategy can be found on the Web site at http://www.doh.ie/hstrat/index.html