Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Priority Questions Nos. 2 and 5 together.

The PA report is an important milestone in addressing the challenges to the provision of medical services in the Defence Forces. Implementation will take time and commitment. This is being achieved in consultation with the representative associations. On receipt of the report in June this year, I asked that implementation of the recommendations proceed immediately.

The PA report reviewed the medical services required for the Defence Forces in light of their roles and operations, assessed the current arrangements for the provision of medical services and proposed a model for future delivery of medical services.

As the House will be aware, the consultants have recommended a programme of major change. The high level recommendations include a centralised command structure for the medical corps and the creation of a medical services management and administrative function which structure will provide strategic planning, resource allocation and overall responsibility for the management and delivery of the medical service. It also proposes the development of medical officer lead care teams, together with a refocusing of medical staff on appropriate clinical tasks. The report also recommends steps leading to a reduction in the number of doctor interventions and medical assessments and better management of health services outsourcing.

The report reaffirms the need for a dedicated medical corps and addresses the challenges facing the Defence Forces in the recruitment and retention of medical officers. The structure and systems recommended have been designed to meet the demands and needs of the modern Defence Forces both at home and abroad and provide medical officers with a fulfilling and rewarding career. The governance structure proposed in the report for the delivery of change in this area has been put in place. It consists of a high-level steering group composed of senior military and civilian personnel. The role of the steering group is to provide planning guidance, to clarify the approach to recommendations where required and to ensure the project is implemented effectively.

A dedicated programme group with civilian and military representatives is now co-ordinating a range of projects. It is making progress on a number of the PA recommendations, including the structure of the medical corps, the alignment of Defence Forces and medical corps strategies and the development of medical information systems. Preparatory work has also commenced on the recommendations on training and education, clinical issues and the centralised command structure.

Valuable consultation has occurred with the representative associations in the preparation of this report. The consultants had a number of meetings with the representative associations and received submissions from them. In addition, the consultants conducted a workshop with the main stakeholders, including the representative associations, to update them on progress and to validate views on a number of issues.

Progress on the ongoing preparation of the implementation programme is being reported to the associations through the partnership medical sub-group and through the normal conciliation and arbitration, C&A, process. The associations will be also formally consulted on the implementation programme when it has been approved by the steering group. Any issues within the scope of representation can be then addressed through the C&A scheme.

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