Covid pandemic funding speeds up parts of Sláintecare implementation

The central principle of Sláintecare, which is that care should be free at the point of need regardless of income, played a large role in how the State approached the pandemic. Picture: Pexels

The massive budget for the Covid-19 pandemic allowed the Government to make progress on some areas of Sláintecare but it is not clear how long this will last, external analysis of reforms has found.

The analysis, led by Dr Sara Burke, who was an adviser on the original Sláintecare plans, found while the pandemic made some change happen faster, other structural changes were paused.