It’s time to kill off the hydra-headed monster and start all over again

IT IS difficult for anyone — and that includes Health Minister Mary Harney and HSE chief Prof Brendan Drumm — to understand what has happened to the health service over the years.

An understanding of the way services were traditionally delivered is necessary if one is to understand where it all went wrong and why we find ourselves in such a pickle today.

The health services in Ireland were traditionally delivered by primary care in the first instance. GPs saw patients, instigated appropriate investigations and referred them either to specialist colleagues or directly to hospital for admission as the occasion demanded.