ALL ACUTE hospitals will have to be licensed by 2012 and the current reconfiguration of hospital services is in preparation for that, Minister for Health Mary Harney said yesterday.
She was responding to questions from reporters about plans for the reconfiguration of acute hospital services in the southeast after she launched a minor injuries clinic for public patients on a pilot basis in Dublin.
“We are preparing for a situation in 2012 where all acute hospitals will have to be licensed and therefore they have to meet minimum accreditation and licensing conditions.
“So in everything we are doing we are preparing for two years hence when the law in Ireland will require all health providers, beginning with hospitals, to have an annual licence in order to provide services, which is long overdue,” she said.
“So any change that takes place will be with a view to ensuring that all our hospitals can meet licensing requirements in 2012,” she added.
She said no decisions had yet been made about the reconfiguration of hospital services in the southeast. A report on proposed changes is not complete, she confirmed.
She also confirmed a successor for Prof Brendan Drumm as chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE) has not yet been identified. A number of people have been interviewed, she said. She hoped his successor could be identified as soon as possible.
Ms Harney earlier attended the opening of a new service by the Mater hospital which will allow public patients with minor injuries to be seen at a clinic in Smithfield. It is hoped the service, which is free if patients have been referred by a GP or if they have a medical card, will ease pressure on the hospital’s emergency department.
The service operates out of the urgent care centre opened a few years ago by Charter Medical. The HSE is funding the Mater to use the facility for six months and if the arrangement is successful in relieving overcrowding at the hospital’s emergency department, it may be continued. The rapid access clinic will be open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.