Concern was expressed yesterday that the new National Health Strategy may result in patients having to wait longer for outpatient appointments in the State's hospitals.
The strategy, published on Monday, proposed to reduce waiting lists to a maximum of three months by the end of 2004 following referral from an outpatient department.
The chief executive of Children in Hospital Ireland, Ms Mary O'Connor, yesterday said she feared that getting an outpatient appointment "will become the new logjam before getting on to the waiting list".
She said waiting for treatment had enormous implications for children. "For years countless children have suffered in so many ways because they cannot get the treatment necessary to deal with their conditions. For example, children with chronic tonsillitis have suffered pain, have had antibiotics prescribed repeatedly, and have missed out on school and socialisation. The consequences of this situation are immeasurable. Hopefully the commitments to increase manpower and the guarantees to reduce time on waiting lists will make such occurrences a thing of the past," she said.
However, she welcomed the proposals in the strategy to review paediatric services and develop protocols and standards for children in hospital.
Meanwhile, the Children's Rights Alliance stressed that many of the key improvements promised in relation to children's healthcare are contingent upon the inclusion of adequate funding in next year's budget.
"Unless funding is provided in the Budget to support the extension of free primary care coverage to substantial numbers of additional children, the first two goals of the strategy - better health for everyone and fair access - will remain out of reach for many children," the organisation's chief executive Mr Raymond Dooley said.
The text of the Government health strategy document, Quality and Fairness, A Health System For You, is available on The Irish Times website, www.ireland.com