Independent Ireland Healthcare Policy Release
Ireland’s healthcare system is increasingly unable to meet demand. Hospital beds are chronically in short supply and primary care physicians are overwhelmed by their workload. The bottom line is we need more doctors, nurses, and hospitals. This means we need more funding and competent management of the HSE to ensure that funding is well spent,” said Independent Ireland Leader TD Michael Collins of Cork South West during remarks on September 26.
“People are waiting months or years for necessary medical procedures, and many are forced to cross the border to Northern Ireland or travel to other countries to receive speedy treatment. Why are eye, hip, and many other critical operations possible there, but not here? Meanwhile, the Government spends its time building gold-plated bike sheds, hiring fitness instructors, and constructing a long-delayed children’s hospital, which will be the most expensive hospital on the planet once complete… but they forgot to include a decent parking lot. The Government’s poor financial stewardship and lack of a coherent plan has caused the healthcare crisis, but we at Independent Ireland have a plan to fix it,”
“We will fix the shortage of healthcare professionals by increasing the salaries of primary care physicians and nurses to ensure they remain in Ireland. We will provide forgivable, interest-free loans for Irish students to study medicine and subsidise rental of state-owned accommodation for healthcare professionals on low wages to make a career in medicine more feasible. Finally, we recognize the critical role that carers play in our healthcare system; therefore, we will abolish means testing for carers,”
“We need to completely reevaluate how we think about healthcare delivery and must pursue a system that allows for 24/7 treatment – we already know this is possible because private hospitals operate on this system. We will increase funding to smaller/regional hospitals and introduce a reimbursement scheme for Republic of Ireland private hospitals, while continuing the existing Northern Ireland reimbursement program. We must also increase funding for community hospitals and establish public-private partnerships to help shorten wait-times for medical care. By taking these actions, we can begin to address the shameful wait times in the Irish healthcare system,” Collins said.
We must ensure proper oversight of the HSE and reform medical card issuance to create a more efficient, fairer system. We support automatic issuance of medical cards to patients undergoing cancer treatment for the duration of their treatment, and call for an end to automatic issuance of medical cards to all IPAS applicants. We will create a watchdog agency, independent of HSE, to ensure accountability by HSE and hospital management, and strengthen whistle-blower protections with new legislation. We will make the Minister for Health directly answerable for delivery of services and ensuring transparent and effective healthcare for all, and restore accountability in the Ministry of Health. No longer should the minister be able to hide behind the line that the HSE is an independent statutory body,” Collins said.
Finally, we will modernise mental healthcare and eldercare delivery. We will add dementia units to all community hospitals and Increase grants for nursing homes to remain in compliance and prevent nursing home closures. We will also Introduce outpatient mental health respite facilities, to address the gap between acute admission and community care,”
“These are just some of our goals and the steps we will take to achieve them. A vote for Independent Ireland is a vote for a healthier Ireland,” Collins said.
Download Our Policy Here: www.independentireland.ie/health
