Healthcare Policy

Summary 

  • A National Health Service that treats people according to medical need.
  • Establish an Independent Health Promotion Agency to promote health and preventative behavior.
  • Abolish the HSE – hospital groups and CHOs to be integrated and governed by new health councils.
  • Create a network of community primary care centres – free GP care for all.
  • Guarantee access to health care within 18 weeks.
  • Guarantee access to emergency hospital care within 4 hours of presenting to an Emergency Department, elective hospital inpatient care within 12 weeks of referral, outpatient care within 10 weeks and diagnostic procedures within 10 days.
  • Move to 21,000 beds nationally to increase capacity. Compulsory purchase private facilities required as part of increasing the number of public beds.
  • Increase ambulances and air ambulances to meet 8-minute response times. Introduce a Paramedic Transport Service
  • Increase medical technicians by 750 as per HIQUA recommendations
  • Re-open hospitals closed during the recession -reopen emergency departments too.
  • End ‘outsourcing’ of frontline health service jobs
  • End outsourcing of non-medical healthcare staff
  • Stop all support and tax breaks for private hospitals and health care facilities
  • Reduce profiteering by private drug companies. Overtime, – move to a National Pharmaceutical Company.
  • Abolish prescription charges and all other out-of-pocket payments such as hospital in patient charges; abolish car parking charges in hospitals – reduce the drug payment scheme threshold to zero.
  • Establish 500 primary care teams and primary care centersto house them.
  • Invest in a network of Community Development Health Workers based in community projects.
  • End the ‘Fair Deal Scheme’ and improve funding for the elderly.
  • Increase funding for Mental Health and ringfence funding for child and adolescent mental health.
  • Disability services should follow a rights-based approach.
  • Increase Personal Assistant Hours so people with disabilities can lead independent lives.
  • Early intervention for children with disabilities.
  • Improve age appropriate services for young people.
  • Improve cancer care including screening, access to diagnostic tests, radiotherapy/chemo.
  • Extend diagnostic option during pregnancy in weeks 18-22 to all who want them.
  • Extra support for those with autism and those with dementia. Transgender people to access services as a fundamental human right.
  • Create fresh fruit clubs and community exercise initiatives.
  • Chemicals added to food, water or air should be more closely regulated and subject to public consultation and control
  • Create a country wide network of cycle lanes
  • End Corruption and Improve Service Planning.
  • Investigate malpractice at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise
  • Build resistance to cuts and privatisationin healthcare.
  • Work in con-junction with the Still Waiting Health Campaign to unite trade unions, workers and service-users to fight for a better health service for all.