The State’s health service is in need of a crisis plan in order to meet the fundamental needs of patients, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).
Speaking at a presentation of the IMO's submission to the new health strategy, Chief Executive Mr George McNeice warned that "sound thinking" as well as increased funding was required to meet growing customer expectation and the increased cost of provision.
"What is needed is a crisis plan to deal immediately with the fundamental issues that would have an immediate impact on the health service for patients and health care workers," he said.
He also criticised the Government’s new task force looking into manpower requirements in the service and called for the appointment of 1,000 extra consultants immediately.
"This manpower plan is already two years old and the Government are setting up another national task force to look at it. This is simply putting off dealing with the problem," Mr McNiece said.
The decrease in the number of people with medical card entitlement has fallen from 37.45 per cent in 1988 to less than 30 per cent this year, according to IMO president Dr James Reilly.
"Unless medical card eligibility limits are reviewed to take account of the real growth in the economy and the cost of medical inflation, the level of hardship for those at the lower end of the income threshold will increase," Dr Reilly said.