Harney: Union deal positive for hospital services

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney said the agreement reached between public sector management and unions would have an extremely positive impact on hospital services.

While not wanting to put anyone under pressure, she believed the agreement would be a great help in meeting the Health Service Executive’s national service plan within available resources.

Ms Harney told a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children the agreement allowed greater flexibility, longer working days and redeployment of HSE staff.

“All these agreements reached last night will positively impact on the provision of health services and allow the reforming agenda to continue,” she said.

Ms Harney said the two provisional administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance would ensure the company continued to trade and take on new business.

All claims would be honoured, she stressed.

There was an insurance compensation fund that would have to be applied to meet the gap between the assets and liabilities.

“There is no immediate concern in relation to the health insurance element,” said Ms Harney, who was replying to a question from Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly.

“Quinn has 23% of the private health insurance market and all those policy holders are fully covered and that will continue to be the case,” she said.

The minister said the HSE’s first national director of clinical care, Dr Barry White, was examining ring-fencing acute hospital beds for surgical procedures.

“What happens is when there is pressure on emergency departments elective surgery gets postponed or delayed and the only way to avoid that is to ringfence beds,” she said.

Ms Harney said the initiative would be put into effect this year.

The minister also announced the cervical cancer vaccination programme for first year students would commence after Easter.