We have a large number and range of acute hospitals in Ireland, all of which are held in high esteem and used mainly by local people for the majority of their hospital care. However, the provision of modern, high quality, safe care requires increasing levels of cooperation and overarching systems of governance and communication. We know that the traditional practice of providing as many services as possible in every hospital is neither sustainable nor safe. Experience in Ireland and abroad teaches us that a co-ordinated system of care is clearly better for patients than a sporadic approach from hospital to hospital. The formation of Irish acute hospitals into a small number of groups, each with its own governance and management, will provide an optimum opportunity for hospital services to be configured to deliver high-quality, safe patient care in a cost-effective manner.
It was with this in mind that I appointed Professor John Higgins in June of last year to chair a Strategic Board on the establishment of Hospital Groups. I have received Professor Higgins’ report, which is based on a comprehensive consultation process and contains almost 60 recommendations on the formation, management and governance of hospital groups, all of which are strongly endorsed by the Strategic Board. I will shortly submit this report to Government, to consider and decide on the final formation of each hospital group. I appreciate that this report and the related government decision are anxiously awaited: however, this is the most radical and most fundamental modernisation of our health system infrastructure since the State’s foundation and I take very seriously my obligation to consider the report closely, to assure myself and my Cabinet colleagues that it provides a robust basis to enable timely access to a high quality and sustainable hospital service for those who need it.
The Government will decide on the initial make up of hospital groups which will be established on an administrative basis pending the legislation required to set up hospital trusts by 2015. Before those trusts are established the composition and functioning of the Groups will be reviewed and if changes prove necessary then they will be made with Government approval when the hospital trusts are being formed.
