HEALTH MINISTER STEPHEN Donnelly has said he wants a new Slaintecare contract for consultants to be agreed “within weeks.”
In a speech at the Irish Hospital Consultants Association’s (IHCA) annual conference on Saturday, he said the contract, which will see medical specialists treating only public patients in state hospitals, should be concluded before the end of the year.
Donnelly repeated his commitment to the Slaintecare programme aimed at introducing universal healthcare, which has been hit by high-profile resignations in recent weeks.
He said: “I am keen to see a new contract agreed within weeks that can form an important part of our progress towards universal healthcare.
“My view, and I know the view of many of you here, is that achieving universal healthcare in Ireland is one of the most important projects of our time.
“While getting there is difficult, the concept itself is very simple – timely access to affordable high-quality care.”
Donnelly said the current situation, which can see patients waiting years to see consultants and have procedures, was “completely unacceptable”.
One of the key issues in the talks is pay equity, with those who qualified after 2012, when lower salaries for new entrants were introduced, still earning less than their peers.
Addressing IHCA members, @DonnellyStephen admits that far too many vacant consultant posts have been filled by fixed term or special-purpose contracts in recent years – a trend which must change #CareCantWait pic.twitter.com/f2ev5KWvSr
— IHCA (@IHCA_IE) October 9, 2021
Donnelly said the issue would be dealt with within the framework of the talks.
He also used his speech to address the crisis over hospital waiting lists, with more than 900,000 people now waiting for appointments.
While Donnelly said the lists are “unacceptably high”, he dismissed suggestions it could take up to five years to solve the problem.
“Anyone who suggests we can wait five years to deal with the backlog is underestimating my determination and the determination of the Government to sort this out,” he said.
“Reducing waiting times for patients is a top priority of all of us here today. Our waiting lists have been unacceptably high for many years.
“They have worsened since the pandemic and our difficulties were further compounded by the cyber-attack. Urgent action is needed.
“Achieving universal healthcare in Ireland is one of the most important projects of our time.
“If we are to succeed in tackling this problem, a co-ordinated effort across the whole of the health service, both public and private, is needed.”
He added: “Our response to the pandemic, and in particular the recent vaccination campaign, demonstrates what can be achieved when the system works together with a singular focus.
“A short-term Waiting List Action Plan for the rest of the year is being progressed to address the loss of activity arising from the pandemic and the cyber-attack.
“I am setting up a ministerial taskforce that will build on what we learnt in respect of our vaccine programme.
“We must do things differently than we have in the past. We must innovate and we must be bold and disruptive in our thinking.”
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