Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
603. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the steps he has taken over the past year to implement Sláintecare; his plans in this context for budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24390/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Sláintecare Report represents a significant milestone in the history of our health services development in Ireland. I intend to harness the consensus generated by the Report to move forward with a programme of health reform. This Government is committed to making tangible improvements in our health service and the Sláintecare Report provides the direction of travel for this.
The development of a Sláintecare Implementation Plan is now well advanced and I expect to bring proposals to Government for consideration in the coming weeks. This plan will set out a detailed programme of reform to be undertaken in the years ahead.
I have already taken action on several of the specific recommendations proposed in the Sláintecare report. A Sláintecare Programme Office is being established in the Department of Health. This office will be tasked with implementing a programme of reform, as agreed by Government, arising from the Sláintecare Report. The appointment of an Executive Director for the Sláintecare Programme Office will be made shortly.
An independent board for the HSE is being established as recommended in the Sláintecare report. The General Scheme of a Bill has been published and it is hoped that legislation will be enacted this year.
The Sláintecare Report recommended the removal of private practice from public hospital. I have established an Independent Review Group to examine how private practice can be removed from public hospitals. It will report later this year.
A public consultation on the geographical alignment of Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations has recently been completed and will inform work on broader health service structural reform as recommended in the Sláintecare report.
Finally, the Government has demonstrated significant commitment to invest in our health and social care services since the publication of the Sláintecare report. Funding for new initiatives in Budget 2018 were closely aligned with proposals in Sláintecare. These new initiatives included investing €25 million a new Primary Care fund, additional funding of €25 million allocated for home care and transition beds, €17 million to reduce medicine and prescription charges, €75 million targeted to reduce waiting list and €1 million for the Sláintecare Programme Office.
The Health Service Capacity Review, which was called for in the Report, was published in January, and the recently published National Development Plan contains a commitment to fund significant new capacity – 2,600 acute hospital beds and 4,500 community care beds over the next decade. It also contains funding to deliver on the eHealth strategy in full which is a key recommendation in Sláintecare.
As the Deputy is aware, Budget 2019 will be subject to discussions with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the normal manner and I am not able to comment on specifics at this stage.
