Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I welcome the contents, particularly in the context of the national clinical programme for heart failure. The health failure policy toolkit can have a role in this. It has been rolled out across Europe and there should be liaison on this. I intend to follow up with the Department on this.

As the Minister of State has acknowledged many times, there is constant negativity around our health services and the negativity is so pervasive and persistent that it often overshadows and ignores the thousands of positive outcomes every day in every hospital and primary care unit. The negativity is bound to affect staff morale, etc. but it cannot be used to detract from the task before us. Ensuring the health service is efficient and provides timely, effective treatment is a mammoth task. I acknowledge the Department's role and the demands it faces regarding all illnesses and conditions. It is difficult to decide on how to allocate resources, particularly when there is constant strain on the national resources.

Under the national cancer strategy introduced by a previous Fine Gael-Labour Party Government in 1996 and its successor, which was published in 2006, cancer services have been transformed and, therefore, I hope a unified approach to heart failure can be adopted throughout the country and across Europe, which takes on board best practice and the best models. The health failure policy toolkit can work and there should be credit where credit is due. The strategy on cancer care under the former Minister, Mary Harney, has worked in many ways and has contributed to improved outcomes. Ultimately, the improvements in cancer outcomes have proven beyond doubt the positive benefits of the development and use of clear national strategies. I hope this can be done for heart failure. I urge the Minister of State to take on board the contents of the policy toolkit and development strategy for tackling this condition in conjunction with that has been planned and rolled out. As our population ages, this condition will become more prevalent and it will cause more serious issues, including financial problems, which will land on the desks of the Department.

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