INO cautiously welcome reform scheme

The Irish Nurses’ Organisation has given a cautious welcome to the Government's health reform scheme, but warned that without investment in health no real change or improvement could take place in front line services.

General Secretary Liam Doran said that investment had to be increased to allow the service to deal with the demands upon it, adding: “That is the only way we can avoid overcrowding, people being cared for on trolleys in accident and emergency units departments and reduce waiting lists.”

The Office for Health Management – the key agency for facilitating health management – said the proposed programme of reform had to be carefully managed if it was to result in a better health service.

And spokesman Denis Doherty said it was vital that the service to patients should be protected and maintained during any transition period and that workers in the health services fully understood the reform programme.

Flanked by his most senior colleagues, Mr Ahern declared: “Today is an important day for the Irish health service and what today is about is trying to make sure that we can do more for our patients, that we can do more for patient care, that we can get better value for money that we put into our health service, that we can have a better management system and a more accountable system.”

Labour called the plan “accountant driven“.

Health spokesperson Liz McManus said they did not oppose in principle a reduction in the number of health boards, but they were against any measures to make the delivery of community health services more remote from the people they were intended to serve.

She added: “A highly centralised system of community care, remote from the people will prove costly and bureaucratic. Changes should not be made where it is clear that they will be to the benefit of patients and the community.”

Olivia Mitchell, the Fine Gael party health spokesperson, said “The range of proposals are simply changes to a faulty system when what is needed is system change.”