Reform Of The Health System

Cork

I must welcome the report on the health services yesterday. Putting Centres of Excellence in our coutry is obvious. Down Grading country hospitals is a sensible move.

Country hospitals are good - if you have a routine complaint. But these hospitals do not have expertise in all medical disiplines.

But RTE rounded up the people opposed to this last night. Wrapping your town colours around your hospital. A classic example of parish pump politics.

We need to reform the system. Yet the first mention of reform people are opposed to it.

Hopefully, the government will stand up to parish pump pariahs - I think it may fear about loosing council seats. But I think people will admire them if they make a long awaited reform of the system a priority.

Trebor

nothing agaisnt them having certres of excellance but if they are all in dublin then we won't be able to get there fast due to traffic

bonkey

Originally posted by Cork
Country hospitals are good - if you have a routine complaint.

As opposed to an emergency, where it makes sense to have to have the nearest hospital capable of dealing with it as far away as possible, because the more local ones should only be for "routine" stuff and have been downgraded ????

I will admit to not having seen the report, so I should clarify that the above is an uninformed reaction. I would be really interested in hearing how they have avoided the issue - or intend to avoid it?

Does it include a condemnation of the inefficiency of the Health Boards, and restructuring to fix them as well???

jc

Just as a matter of interest, can anyone tell me how common MRI scanners are in Ireland at this stage?

Trebor

i think it's more like moving the highly specialized doctors to hospitals that can deal with say brain tumors, stuff that needs specialists as opposed to emergency care.

the A&E part of the hospitals could then be upgraded as the hospitals would not need to spend so much money on the latest technology for the specicalists.

Cork

I think that it makes sense having Centres Of Excellence relating to say to heart complaints.

Small country hospitals do not have the personnel or the knowledge to deal with rare complaints. I know in the UK - There are various Centres Of Excellence around the country.

Local Hospitals cannot delude themseves that they are one stop shops.

I would even go further that there should be groups of specialist nurses to complement the brigade of public health nurses.

gandalf

Cork do you have alink to this report.

I have definate views on how to reform the whole health system but I'd like to read this report before I fire them up.

Gandalf.

Cork

No links - sorry.

Just media reports.

Sparks

Which would seem to be annoying Pat Rabbite as well - he's in the IT today complaining that the government prefers to announce programs through leaks instead of bringing them to Dail Eireann...