Capacity Expansion Plan critical for the future of healthcare in Ireland according to the Irish Hospital Consultants Association

Capacity Expansion Plan critical for the future of healthcare in Ireland according to the Irish Hospital Consultants Association

IHCA Submission to the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare

12th September, 2016: The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has said that a blueprint for the next 10 to 15 years must outline the increased capacities in acute hospital, mental health and other services that will be in put in place each year to care for the current case load that presents to acute hospitals and for the projected increase in patient numbers. It said that the realistic resourcing of Ireland’s public hospital and mental health services must be prioritised if the country is to have a health service that can provide timely effective care to patients. Years of underfunding and a failure to account for demographic changes have resulted in a health service that has significant capacity, resource and physical infrastructure deficits. The IHCA highlighted these critical concerns in its submission to the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare.

The Association has also recommended that existing governance arrangements in the health service need to be strengthened significantly to be fit for purpose and to enable the development of an integrated, effective and efficient health service in Ireland.  Speaking about the IHCA submission, Dr Tom Ryan, President of the IHCA said: “Appropriate governance together with proper resourcing are required to address the existing critical capacity constraints that are restricting the provision of timely, high quality healthcare to an increasing number of patients. To be successful, the long term plan and strategy must be properly resourced taking account of present and future anticipated levels of demand.”

The IHCA has questioned whether significant changes in the sources of funding for health care services, which are broadly similar to those used in other countries, are practical in the current economic situation or whether they would deliver sustainable benefits in terms of improved patient care given the risks in changing the model while substantial operational and service delivery issues and problems need to be addressed.  

According to the Association, a clear set of measures is required to strengthen hospital, hospital group, CHO, HSE, corporate and clinical governance arrangements to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose and ensure best practice.  Dr Tom Ryan added: “It is essential that the current focus of governance is rebalanced to facilitate increased clinical governance input at organisational board levels in order to prioritise the delivery of safe, high quality, timely care to patients.  In addition, CHO and Hospital Group geographic coverage must also be aligned without delay.”

The IHCA has said that the medical profession is keen to engage collaboratively in the development of strategies and plans that will enable the provision of high quality, safe, timely care to patients.

Other recommendations by the IHCA include:

• Realistic Resourcing: Realistic funding is required to end the under-resourcing of public hospital and mental health services that is preventing the delivery of timely care to patients. This must provide for the requirement to increase public hospital and mental health service capacities though increased investment to address the growing physical infrastructure, equipment and frontline staffing deficits. In particular, the effectiveness of our acute health services depends on an immediate increase in the number of acute, ICU and rehabilitation beds together with increased endoscopy, diagnostic imaging, operating theatre and outpatient capacity. In addition, there must be an immediate increase in the availability of step down care and other facilities without delay to support timely discharge of patients from acute hospitals.
• Proper Planning and Demographic Pressures: Future resourcing must take full account of the existing unfunded and unmet patient care needs together with projected future demographic and other pressures which will increase the demand for care. This requires realistic, verifiable projections which take account of the increased numbers of patients awaiting care, the rising prevalence of chronic disease in an ageing population.
• Universal Single Tier Health Service: A single tier health system cannot be regarded as a healthcare end in itself, but must be viewed in the light of the health care benefit that will accrue from its implementation. The key challenge is to clarify and determine the scope, effectiveness and cost of the proposed universal single tier health service in contrast with the improved health service that would arise by addressing the priorities, challenges, roadblocks and deficits which are preventing the current health service from delivering timely, high quality care to patients. The priority should be to definitively address the current unacceptable waiting lists.
• Key Barriers and Roadblocks: In day to day practice, the provision of high quality care to an increasing number of patients is hampered by a range of factors which need to be resolved including deficient governance, overelaborate bureaucracy, decaying infrastructure, obsolete equipment and lack of front line staffing.

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview with the IHCA, please contact:

James Dunny, FleishmanHillard - +353 86 3883903 or James.Dunny@fleishmaneurope.com

Fiona Murphy, FleishmanHillard - +353 87 8194464 or fiona.murphy@fleishmaneurope.com

About the IHCA

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association was established to promote, encourage and support the advancement of the practice of Medicine, in all specialties and areas, and the improvement of the Health Services in Ireland. There are over 2,400 members of the Association and it is widely recognised as the leading representative voice for the profession in Ireland.