New regional health areas will require 'radical change' at centre of HSE

The current structure of the health service, with all decisions being taken centrally, simply doesn’t work.

Next year's introduction of six regional health areas (RHAs) must involve a “radical change at the centre of the HSE”, according to the man tasked with their implementation.

Leo Kearns, chief executive of the Irish Medical Council and chair of the RHA advisory group, said the RHAs "cannot work and won't work" without that radical change.