Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Select Committee on the Future of Healthcare

The Cancer Strategy as a Case Study of Health Service Reform: Professor Tom Keane

9:00 am

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Keane. I would like to ask a few questions before we finish up. Practically every group that comes before this committee mentions access to diagnostics. I think the point about access to diagnostics outside the hospital system was well made. We are taking that on board. We hear a great deal about the importance of integration of services. To what extent has Professor Keane found that the organisational structures within the HSE have impeded that integration?

My second question relates to this country's two-tier system. Deputy Billy Kelleher spoke earlier about the lack of consistency in access to care, particularly for public patients. This big emerging problem is being raised by many of the groups that are coming before us. How did Professor Keane deal with that in terms of rolling out a programme? How did he manage the entitlement of those with private health insurance cover to quicker access to care?

Professor Keane referred to the need for legislation in a number of areas. I particularly noted what he said about the need for legislation to cover clinical governance. Does he feel we need legislation to deal with the issue of entitlement to access to care? This question relates to my previous question about the two-tier system.

Professor Keane spoke about the importance of having a good and robust strategy to start with, and then having an implementation plan. What about the monitoring element of that? Where is the oversight or monitoring of the implementation of the cancer programme?

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