IHCA Statement on the 2015 National Service Plan

IHCA Statement on the 2015 National Service Plan

Commenting on the 2015 National Service Plan (NSP), Dr Crotty, President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), said the ongoing crisis in acute hospital and mental health services has continued because frontline services have been consistently underfunded. He said this has left services at inadequate levels to treat patients in a medically acceptable timeframe, which has resulted in more patients on waiting lists and trolleys.

Dr Crotty said the Association acknowledged the achievement of the Minister for Health, Mr Leo Varadkar, in securing the first Health Budget increase in recent years. However, he said, the nominal increase included in the NSP for acute hospitals next year means hospitals will continue to be overstretched. This is because of the increased numbers awaiting care and this year’s acute hospital underfunding. The HSE admits that it will not have the resources to tackle waiting lists.

Dr Crotty welcomed the acknowledgement that 200 consultant posts need to be filled and he highlighted that an equivalent number of posts are either vacant or filled on a temporary basis.  He said it is essential that the 2008 Consultant Contract is honoured to ensure that the health service can recruit the number and calibre of consultants that are needed to deliver safe high quality care to patients.

The IHCA President said that hospital consultants will endeavour to optimise the benefit of the increased funds but there remains a real concern that the NSP provisions will be insufficient to meet the expected increase in demand for acute hospital and mental health services unless more frontline resources are provided to treat patients safely and at a time that they need treatment. Dr Crotty said that the NSP has not adequately provided for the fact that patient demand for care continues to grow each year because the country’s increasing and ageing population, reductions in the number of patients with health insurance and the higher number of patients awaiting care being carried over from previous years.  “Unfortunately the crisis is likely to continue unabated, with patients continuing to wait far too long for treatment”, concluded Dr Crotty.

ENDS

For further information contact:

James Dunny, FleishmanHillard 086 388 3903