Vol. 421 No. 5
43 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health when he intends to establish an audit unit which would publish reports on the health services, and in particular, performance indicators against which the public could judge their success.
The Programme for Economic and Social Progress provides for the establishment of a Performance Audit Unit in the Department of Health as part of the improvement in the administration and a management of the health services. I will be introducing legislation later this year to give effect to the Government's decision on changes in health services' organisation.
One important objective of these reforms is to strengthen my Department's role in policy formulation and evaluation using techniques such as performance audit. Some of the elements involve in performance audit, such as value for money programmes and allocation mechanisms related to prospective output, are already being developed by my Department. However, the proposed management changes in the health services will provide the opportunity for the full development and application of performance audit and allow for its utilisation as a key factor in the further improvement of effectiveness and efficiency in the health services.
