Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Health Service Executive: Chairman

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask my other questions in one go, because we are stretched for time. I note that in Mr. Devane's opening statement, he refers to the board's priorities. Those priorities are all fine, but I do not see issues around access for patients or quality listed there. People are now waiting three, four, or five years just to see a consultant. Access in some areas in Ireland is worse than in parts of Africa. It is the worst in the OECD, and we have the lowest number of consultantsper capita anywhere in the OECD. We have the second lowest number of hospital beds in the OECD. We have reached a complete crisis. Consultants say the hospital system is on fire. There is a crisis in the lack of access for men, women, and children. The narrative is that the Irish healthcare system is difficult to get access to but is brilliant once one gets in, but while bits of it are, other bits are not. We have unsafe staffing levels all over the system, which was noted in Mr. Paul Reid's briefing. As the incoming chair, what are Mr. Devane's views on this? First, would he agree that we have a crisis in access to healthcare? What needs to be done in the short term to deal with these waiting times of three, four, or five years? What are some of his short-term priorities for the board, in order to address some of the quality issues in the system, while accepting that some of it is excellent? I will leave my questions at that.

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