Drumm writes book on time as head of HSE

FORMER HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm has written a book detailing his time at the top of the health organisation.

The book, The Challenge of Change, will be published by Orpen Press before Christmas, it is believed.

Mr Drumm ended his five-year contract at the end of August last year and has since returned to an academic post in UCD, where he is on a salary of more than €250,000.

Mr Drumm received a bonus of €70,000 and another €51,238 in lieu of holiday leave as part of his €420,000 farewell package last year, it was revealed during the summer. He was replaced as head of the HSE by Cathal Magee.

Mr Drumm took the job at the newly established Health Service Executive in August 2005. He set about implementing former health minister Mary Harney’s vision of a streamlined health service, with the final dismantling of the old health boards.

Lowlights of his tenure included misdiagnosis scandals, child protection service failures, and also thousands of unreviewed X-rays at Tallaght Hospital.

However, Mr Drumm locked down new consultant contracts, ushered in primary care centres and introduced greater accountability to the system.

He also oversaw the reorganisation of cancer services into eight ‘centres of excellence’, and called a halt to the disastrously over-budget PPARs fiasco.

His two final years saw him enforcing €1 billion in cuts and recruitment freezes across the HSE as the economy crashed.

In 2009, he said that he would be stepping down as chief executive in 2010.

In his mid-50s, Mr Drumm has returned to his academic role and to clinical practice at Crumlin Children’s Hospital. The job had been kept open for him as a condition of his taking the HSE role.

He has also been appointed to the board of the planned National Paediatric Hospital.

Prior to departing, he said it was time for a full review of the effectiveness of the HSE but added he is satisfied with his achievements as part of a 15-year project of service reform.