Healthcare ranking - First-class treatment the priority

Ireland has moved up the rankings in the European Consumer Health Index, which looks at the quality of healthcare across Europe from the consumer’s perspective.

In the latest index Ireland ranked 16 of 29 countries, which was a marked improvement on the previous rating in which Ireland came dead last.

The advance in ranking was not all down to improvements implemented in the period between the two studies.

The previous study conducted by Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP) actually relied on some out-of-date statistics. It was not, therefore, truly representative of the country’s position.

Unfortunately, it did reflect a degree of indifference on the part of our health authorities in relation to how our performance was previously seen.

The latest study is, therefore, based on more up-to-date material. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has obviously begun to get its act together. In a number of different areas, it has shown signs of improving its past dismal performance.

Ireland scores well in relation to informing patients of their rights. There has actually been an improvement throughout Europe in this regard.

A recent study headed by researchers at University College Dublin found that there is a high degree of confidence and trust with this country’s medics, but there is still a problem with our emergency units. One third of accident and emergency patients were unhappy with the service, but three-quarters of all patients were prepared to recommend the health services.

Many countries are failing to deal with superbugs. MRSA infections continued to spread in hospitals.

It poses a real threat in half of the countries.

Waiting times still pose serious problems. The waiting lists have been cut, but the report notes, with obvious understatement, that the improvement is “less than fantastic”.

Despite all the fanfare and promises, this country still ranks last in Europe in terms of waiting times. More could be done to reduce the waiting for most forms of treatment, according to the European Consumer Health Index.

Waiting times were described as “not so good” in four out of five areas of the health service.

This included access to a specialist care, non-acute operations, cancer therapy and MRI scans.

All too often the remedy being prescribed to tackle the problems of the health service is to spend more money, but the report finds that performance is not keeping pace with the level of investment. It should be reasonable for Irish people to expect access to healthcare on a par with countries like Greece or Latvia, but this is not the case.

Ireland spends more than the average European country on health services. It was among the six states scoring highest in the pharmaceutical section, which includes access to pharmacies and free availability of antibiotics.

Providing the best and most modern care may often require a concentration of services in order to provide centres of excellence, rather than scattering second-rate services around the country. This may require some patients to travel a little further, but first-class healthcare should be about the treatment, not travel.