Republic 15th out of 31 European healthcare systems

IRELAND’S healthcare system has improved slightly over the past year, despite our cancer patients facing the longest wait in Europe for treatment.

The country ranked 15th out of 31 countries surveyed by Health Consumer Powerhouse, a company that provides consumer information on healthcare. The main improvement was in outcomes for patients.

Waiting lists are a big factor and according to the author of the Euro Health Consumer Index 2008, Dr Arne Bjornberg, this is costing huge amounts of money and damaging people’s health.