As part of the ongoing roll out of the Health Reform Programme, my Department has divested itself of involvement in the operational delivery of health and personal social services. It is now responsible for overall organisational, legislative, policy and financial accountability for the health sector. The Health Service Executive (HSE) was established in January, 2005 and is responsible for the management and delivery of health and personal social services.
Policy in the delivery of health services has been determined by Government as the development of health services in all regions of the country, capable of providing safe, high-quality services that achieve the best possible outcomes for patients in primary care settings or when accessing a hospital service. My Department has developed a broad range of strategy documents and associated policies to guide it in its work.
The Health Reform Programme comprehends Quality and Fairness — The National Health Strategy, The Primary Care Strategy as well as the Prospectus, Brennan and Hanly reports. These reports are guiding the future of the health service in that they lay out the overall direction for the major changes in the health services and how they should be addressed and delivered. These reports culminated in the enactment of the Health Act, 2004, which abolished the health boards and established the HSE in January, 2005, as a mechanism for unitary service delivery in the area of health and personal social services.
Under the Health Act, 2004, a core responsibility of the Department is that of holding the HSE to account in relation to its financial performance and performance of service delivery, as well as the effective implementation of Government policies. A number of Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs) have also been established by the HSE and are located within its organisational structure in order to provide strategic leadership and expertise in the development and interpretation of national policy, strategies and service design in the delivery of health and personal social services. The EAG's are made up of a wide range of health professionals and will verify compliance with policy and legislation, monitor appropriate resource utilisation and ensure national consistency in implementation and service delivery.
Another contributor to the way in which policy in the delivery of health services is being determined will be the Health Information Quality Assurance body (HIQA). The Health Bill 2006, published in December, 2006 and currently before the Oireachtas, will establish HIQA and the Social Service Inspectorate on a statutory basis. HIQA will provide an independent review of quality and performance, and its analysis will inform policy development within the Department. It will also undertake health technology assessments and will evaluate information on health and social services and the health and welfare of the population. HIQA will advise the Minister and the HSE on deficiencies identified.