Martin keeps pledge to set up agency to run hospitals

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin is keeping his promise to set up a specific agency to run the country’s hospitals next year in a revamp of the health service.

The National Health Strategy promises to increase the number of acute hospital beds by 3,000 over the next 10 years. Decisions on the allocation of the beds and where specialist treatments will be provided will be made by the National Hospital Agency.

The establishment of the hospital agency will take decisions on the management of hospitals out of the hands of the local health boards. It will also mean a central waiting list database will be set up. Health board bosses have backed the controversial move to centralise hospital management. The Health Board Chief Executive Officers Group says the funding and planning of hospitals should be given over to a national agency, but the lack of a hospital plan is a major impediment to the delivery of quality acute care.

In a submission to consultants working for the Department of Health assessing the structures of the health service, the chief executives recommend retaining the same number of health boards, but say there should be a smaller number of politicians on the boards and more experts in health economics, policy and business. The consultants are due to report to the minister in January with key recommendations on the future of the 11 health boards.

Also yesterday, the Labour Party said thousands of people will be spending Christmas in pain and distress as they wait for the Government to deliver on its health care promises. Labour health spokesperson Liz McManus said the waiting list numbers were still rising despite the health minister's promise prior to the election that hospital waiting lists would be ended within two years: "This is an election promise which is likely to be exposed as another lie."