There are fundamental problems with Sláintecare that those charged with implementing it view as intractable
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Secretary General of the Department of Health Robert Watt must come to the Health Committee to answer questions about the crisis engulfing Sláintecare, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall.
“Yesterday, the chairperson of the South/South West Hospital Group, Professor Geraldine McCarthy resigned, explicitly stating her departure was due to a failure to implement Sláintecare reforms.
In her resignation letter, Prof. McCarthy stated: “Much-needed reform of the health services has not been delivered. This includes the establishment of regional health authorities with autonomy over decisions, budgets and capital spend.”
“Prof McCarthy is the third senior figure in the health service to resign in less than a week due a failure to progress Sláintecare reforms, after Prof Tom Keane and Laura Magahy resigned last Wednesday.
“Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin have both reiterated their commitment to Sláintecare, but these resignations belie those limp assurances. Clearly, there are fundamental problems with Sláintecare that those charged with implementing it view as intractable.
“Sláintecare is a cross-party plan that achieved unanimous support in the Dáil. Despite this it now appears to be in complete disarray because of serious resistance in the HSE and the Department of Health to institutional change.
“The Health Committee is meeting this afternoon and I will be asking members to request that Minister Donnelly and the Secretary General of the Department of Health Robert Watt attend as a matter of urgency to answer questions about this deepening crisis.
14 September, 2021
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