REACTION:HOSPITALS WHICH were given poor ratings under a new tool to measure the performance of health services say they are actively working to address flaws in patient services.
Mayo General Hospital’s general manager said while it had made significant progress in recent years, there were problems with waiting times at its accident and emergency unit.
Tony Canavan said he was hopeful the hospital would achieve a better rating in future reports once this work was completed.
Cork University Hospital also said that while there were positive issues highlighted in the report, it was actively addressing shortcomings in its services.
Geraldine Keohane said it was working to improve the performance of the hospital right across the board, and new systems would help deliver a better rating over time.
However, some Opposition parties rounded on the results which, they said, highlighted the dysfunction of the health service.
Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan said: “In any normal area of activity it can be expected that while some organisations would be below par, others would excel.
“In our system there is no shortage of hospitals that are falling below expectation, but not even one that can be regarded as ‘good’.”
She said hospitals were “creaking under the pressure” that has come about as a failure on the part of the HSE and the Government to provide proper planning, management and resource-allocation for hospitals.
The Irish Patients’ Association welcomed the new system which it hoped would lead to greater accountability and better use of resources.
However, the group’s chairman, Stephen McMahon, said it was disturbing that no hospital received a good rating despite massive investment in recent years.
“We are now in the era of no-bull performance by all service providers everywhere. We must pose the question: Why after spending billions of euro on our heath service has not one participating hospital gotten a green light for each of the domains under review?”
Mr McMahon also said he hoped the new system would address the issue of absenteeism in hospitals.
“Why are there high levels of absenteeism by some sectors of staff? Are sick certificates issued too easily?
“Low morale or poor management of the problem is no explanation for the lack of good leadership.”
