Seanad debates
Wednesday, 25 June 2003
Council Regulation on Procedures for amending the Sirene Manual: Referral to Joint Committee. - Health Service Reform: Statements (Resumed).
It will be shown in the Hanly report that hospital systems must be dealt with. I believe it takes about 0.5 million people to support a full system. There are enormous developments such as telemedicine. The important area for investment is the diagnostic infrastructure so that people are given the results of tests quickly. That could be done at a great distance. I have a vision of the service as a series of systems with diagnostic-related groupings in which the main hospital becomes the acute ward, the intensive care ward, and as much of diagnosis and after care as possible is decentralised. If that is done and accompanied by a decent ambulance service, people will find that they have a better service locally and their overall health will be better.
No comments