Interim HSE board members named

IN the ongoing drive to restore Department of Health control over the day-to-day running of the health service, a handful of department officials have been appointed to a new interim board of the Health Service Executive (HSE).

The new board is solely composed of department and HSE officials in an effort to streamline overall management of the executive and to establish “a new, more direct line of accountability” between HSE managers and Health Minister Dr James Reilly.

The new board includes department secretary-general Michael Scanlan and chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan, Paul Barron, assistant secretary, primary care & eligibility, and Bairbre Nic Aongusa, director, Office for Disability & Mental Health & Citizen Participation. HSE chief Cathal Magee remains in situ and four HSE senior managers have also been appointed.

Health Minister Dr Reilly said the board marked a “new phase” for health services and a “significant change in the relationship between the HSE and the Minister for Health/Department of Health”.

The new board will be chaired by outgoing chairman Dr Frank Dolphin.