Cuts alone won’t save ailing health service

IT was announced recently that a further 6,000 HSE staff would be cut by 2014 and that the use of agency workers would stop.

Adding or taking away staff will make no difference as long as the fundamental design of our healthcare system is flawed. It is necessary for fundamental change to occur within the HSE. I believe that we need to learn from what has been achieved by healthcare systems across the globe including Canada, America and Holland. They continue to identify and eliminate wasteful processes. This strategy has allowed them to operate within their budget and reduce the cost of delivering healthcare services. Adopting this strategy will allow a quality service to be delivered to Irish people.

Jane Bishop