Health service - Harney cure may be hard to swallow

NEWLY-APPOINTED Health Minister Mary Harney stated the obvious when she said Ireland does not have the health service it should, and could, have for the money it is spending on the sector.

With an allocation of €10 billion annually, it is perverse that in a small population the taxpayer is not getting value for money, and, more importantly, those who need the health service are not receiving it.

The Tánaiste brings a fresh approach to Health, which of itself is no bad thing, and choosing this portfolio signals her intention to improve delivery of service.

While there is much to improve, it will not be achieved overnight and a compassionate approach is essential, rather than the perceived pragmatism of the Progressive Democrats.

The fact that support is forthcoming from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is reassuring and could ultimately prove crucial to achieving the aims Mary Harney has set herself.

In an interview on RTÉ's Morning Ireland yesterday, the minister laid out her priorities, and if she delivers them the health service will be practically revolutionised.

Within three years, there will nobody on trolleys, A&E and cancer services will be improved, as will care for elderly people.

She raised the question of providing a free GP service to the general population, but dismissed it almost immediately on the grounds of cost.

Instead, she re-visited the issue of medical cards, a contentious subject which left a bitter aftertaste when the Government callously reneged on a General Election promise to increase the number of card holders by 200,000.

There are 50,000 fewer medical cards today than at the time when that promise was made.

Without spelling out what kind of expansion she envisages in this area, the Tánaiste said that the medical card threshold was far too low and that it would be a priority of hers to change it.

With regard to the Hanly Report which has attracted inordinate criticism from the health sector and from the opposition, Ms Harney has previously defended it.

Two days into her role as Minister for Health she has said that people got angry if they felt something was going to be taken away from them and added: “I think that’s what happened in what is broadly called the Hanly reform process.”

That could be interpreted as a measure of ambivalence about Hanly, but whether that is the case, and to what extent, remains to be seen.

Interestingly, the Tánaiste said that there must be public confidence behind the reform of the health service, and that most people would buy into reform if they knew that it would result in the provision of the best care available.

That is a dichotomy she will have to resolve if she hopes to go anywhere near achieving the targets she has set herself. If she fails, the increased wrath of the public will be deserved.

She will also have to resolve the problem of providing extra beds and more services for elderly people to free-up those beds.

She also needs to manoeuvre around the public sector ban on recruitment, or have it removed.

A slice of the half-billion euro which will become available with the ending of the SSIA scheme would be a considerable advantage to the new Minister of Health.