Urgent action needed to tackle ‘cancer’ of hospital waiting lists – Sláintecare council

Urgent action is needed to tackle the “cancer” of hospital waiting lists, regionalise the health service and promote e-health, according to the body advising Sláintecare reforms.

Remaining members of the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council have written to Taoiseach Micheál Martin calling for a redoubling of efforts to implement the programme to transform health and care services, which was passed with all-party approval four years ago but has mired in controversy over recent months.

The letter, which has been copied to the two other leaders of the Government parties, is the last act of the council, which has been depleted by resignations and whose term of office ends later this month.

While acknowledging steady progress has been made over recent years, the letter said regionalisation, slow e-health progression and the “growing moral stain” of huge waiting lists needs “total agreement on their resolution”.

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While it was reasonable to defer plans to regionalise the health system into six areas, “this should not be delayed any longer”, the council said.

E-health needs to be embraced and delivered with the same urgency used to address Covid-19 with “no hostages to circumstances, personality or commitment”.

The number of people on waiting lists has grown from 600,000 in 2017, when the Sláintecare report was written, to more than 900,000 today, the letter said.

“The waiting list problem needs a new and urgent approach. It is like a cancer that is draining the funding and resolve needed to drive other areas of essential change.”

Controversy

Council members had an extension until the end of the year to deal with the controversy surrounding the sudden resignations of chairman Prof Tom Keane and Sláintecare office executive director Laura Magahy last month. However, this was rejected by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, who has set up a new sub-group to deal with the regionalisation issue.

In the letter, the council welcomed the plan to focus on waiting lists, regionalisation and e-health but emphasised its view that Sláintecare is much more than these three areas of “present difficulty”.

It also said the proposed movement of private medicine out of public hospitals is a “key enabler” for universal healthcare.

“While we recognise that healthcare is always in a state of constant change, due to medical and technological advances, we believe there is an inherent vitality, decency and efficiency about the Sláintecare mission of person-centred care that we must remain loyal to.

“We must keep people at the heart of it, not systems, managers or organisations.”

Expediency must not be allowed to limit the ambition of the programme, or to extend the timeframe involved, the letter warned.

“Sláintecare is not a person, organisation or personal fiefdom. It is a policy, process and promised transaction between the State and its people. In fact, it is owned by the people and it is for the people.”