Healthcare scandals - Blame game does not allay fears

Professor Brendan Drumm, the chief executive of the Health Service Executive, denounced as “appalling” the misdiagnosis of breast cancer scans on seven women at Portlaoise hospital.

But he essentially blamed the public and vested interests, including practitioners, because they have been trying to block the changes necessary to modernise this aspect of the health service.

No matter what changes the HSE tried to introduce there would probably be resistance. But such objections have been getting strong support because there is such a lack of confidence in the HSE, which is top heavy with people in administrative positions.

There is no shortage of people to push paper, but last week we witnessed the appalling situation at the Mid-Western Hospital when a seriously ill girl was left on a trolley because there was no porter to wheel her into an operating theatre for an emergency operation.

Then there is the continuing situation at other hospitals where there is a dispute over who can change light bulbs.

In view of such developments the public has little or no confidence in the HSE, with the result that it is very difficult to get people to embrace its vision of the necessary reforms. The HSE must build confidence by first getting its own house in order.

Prof Drumm insists that the health system is already adequately funded, but ridiculous restrictive practices are a drain on funds. Instead of focussing the blame where it belongs, he contends that the public are blaming a few at the top.

People are marching in the streets because they do not have any faith in the system. Local politicians may only be climbing on a bandwagon, but that bandwagon is there because the public has lost confidence.

It is very difficult to see who is to blame. Health Minister Mary Harney is blaming the HSE, while Prof Drumm is blaming public officials, the public and even certain practitioners.

Somebody must accept responsibility. If that happened, maybe the public would develop confidence in the system.

But there is no accountability as people are engaging in a sordid game of pass the buck.

Nobody doubts that Prof Drumm inherited a mess, but it is important that progress should be apparent for his organisation to gain public confidence.

There is merit in his contention that the development of eight designated centres of excellence would be the best way to tackle cancer, but there have been questions about the timetable for this change and the funding. Questions are being asked not only by outsiders such as politicians and the public, but also by specialists within the health system itself.

The health service has the largest budget in the history of the state, with more doctors, nurses and administrators than ever, yet the problems keep recurring. People must be accountable; it is not good enough just to blame the system. What happened at Portlaoise was the result of human error.

There is something particularly unseemly about the current blame game when seven women’s lives have been put at risk. Blaming everyone and anyone is not allaying public fears but bringing the whole health system into disrepute.