SF pledges €1.2bn to create national health service alongside universal GP care

Sinn Féin has pledged to invest €1.2 billion over two terms of government to create a national health service alongside universal GP care.

The party’s health spokesman, David Cullinane, also said that he asked the top civil servant in the Department of Health, secretary general Robert Watt, if it was possible to do this, and he was told it was.

Mr Cullinane said he asked Mr Watt: “If I was to walk into your office as a Minister for Health and say I want to do this, can you make it happen? And he said ‘yes, and the system will have to go and make it happen’. So it is about political will.”

The party said it would provide €120 million every year for 10 years to roll out universal GP care and remove private healthcare from public hospitals,

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“This will take political will; the private sector is embedded in the public system. It simply can’t be done overnight. There are a number of elements to it,” Mr Cullinane said when asked how he would do this.

“We will have to engage with those who are on Type A and Type B consulting contracts, and look at how we can move them on to public-only contacts, and we will then have to replace private money that goes into the public healthcare system.”

Public beds

Sinn Féin published on Thursday a €1.4 billion alternative health budget promising the new national health service as well as 828 new-build public beds, 6,500 staff, universal counselling on GP referral, and €120 million for implementing two pillars of Sláintecare, namely removing private healthcare from public hospitals and expanding free GP care.

Other plans include a provision of €113 million for mental health services, including universal counselling, and expanding primary mental health services.

There would also be €109 million put aside to boost access to new drugs and treatments.

In relation to consultants, Mr Cullinane said the party would recruit 50 more public health consultants next year.

On hospital infrastructure, Sinn Féin has pledged €225 million to spend on theatre expansion and modernising information systems.

The party said that introducing individual health identifiers, a centralised referral system, and an integrated waiting list management system were the top priorities.

There is also a pledge to “phase out various hospital and pharmacy charges to remove a costly burden from patients and their families”.

Stand still

Mr Cullinane said the party was intending to set out to the public what it would be like “if I was standing here as the Minister for Health instead of the spokesman on health”.

“The Government’s budget will not provide for positive change. It will simply be what is required for the system to stand still. Waiting lists will continue to grow.”

According to its alternative budget, Sinn Féin also said it would set out to prioritise major investment in the cancer strategy and the maternity strategy, as well as the neuro-rehabilitation strategy, dementia strategy and others.

“We would action the neuro-rehabilitation strategy by funding the delivery of 150 neuro- rehabilitation beds over three years and the delivery of a community neuro-rehabilitation team in every community healthcare organisation area,” the document states.