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| Elections |
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A politician comes to your door looking for your vote.
Among other things, you have heard that the health service has lots of problems.
Some politicians may try to tell you that the problem in A+E has been solved, that consultants/old people/inefficiency of healthcare workers are the problem and that you must have private insurance to get the service you and your family need.
The papers tell you that there is overcrowding in A+E, long delays in outpatients, and now it looks like you will have to pay more for private health insurance.
You have a right to be worried.
You believe that nobody should have to go on the radio to get basic healthcare, but you hear this happening everyday. You are not sure who to blame – the problem is complex.
WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY TO THE POLITICIAN?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Private healthcare cannot replace the public health system. As proven internationally, for-profit healthcare will drive up costs and quality will decline. But this seems to be the policy of the current government.
ASK YOUR POLITICIAN:
WHAT IS THE POLICY OF YOUR PARTY ON PROVIDING ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM WORK PROPERLY?
2. The HSE has failed to deliver a better health care system since it was formed in 2005. There has been enormous political interference.
ASK YOUR POLITICIAN:
WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT THIS IF YOU GET INTO POWER?
3. Many Irish people now live in fear of getting sick. Their fear is not of the illness but of their nation’s health service. The current policy of privatization will make people even more fearful.
ASK YOUR POLITICIAN:
DOES THIS POLITICIAN AGREE WITH FOR-PROFIT MEDICINE? IF NOT, WHY AREN’T THEY SPEAKING OUT AGAINST IT?
4. Patients feel no one cares about them. Patients don’t have a voice and feel powerless. Despite intense media coverage, the health service has not improved.
ASK YOUR POLITICIAN:
WHY IS THIS, WHEN THE HSE HAS SPENT MILLIONS ON PR, AND THE MINISTER IS CONSTANTLY INFORMING US OF ALL THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE?
WHY HAVEN’T THE POLITICIANS ADVOCATED ON BEHALF OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS?
WHAT MUST BE DONE
An Taoiseach has said that nobody can fix the health service.
But he is wrong. Our health service CAN be fixed.
The basics of an excellent and fair service are already in place.
The answers you should be looking for:
1. GENERAL PRACTICE
We have motivated general practitioners, who are trained to the highest standards. BUT they just need more resources to develop and enhance practices services and infrastructure. We have a superb community based nursing service. BUT this needs to be developed to realise its full potential.
ANSWER: FUND THE PRIMARY CARE STRATEGY.
We have a network of highly trained allied health professionals who provide excellent care for the communities they serve. There just aren’t enough of them.
ANSWER: LIFT THE EMPLOYMENT CEILINGS FOR FRONT LINE STAFF
2. HOSPITAL PRACTICE
We have excellent clinical hospital staff. The majority of consultants have trained abroad to the highest international standards, and all have faced stiff competition for their posts. They are very good at their jobs and they need teams of other health care professionals to work with. They also need facilities like operating theatres, offices and clinics.
ANSWER: EMPLOY MORE CONSULTANTS BUT GIVE THEM THE TEAMS, SUPPORT STAFF AND INFRA-STRUCTURE TO DO THEIR JOB
Our nurses and other health professionals are recognized internationally to be trained to the best standards. We just need more of them, working as key professionals in the community and in hospitals.
ANSWER: RECOGNIZE THE VALUABLE SKILLS OF NURSES AND CLINICAL PROFESSIONALS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PROVIDED WITH INCENTIVES TO REMAIN IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
We have excellent hospitals. We don’t have enough hospital beds, and the hospitals are not properly integrated into the community based services.
ANSWER: INCREASED CAPACITY IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS AND IMPROVED INTEGRATION BETWEEN HOSPITALS AND COMMUNITY.
We need a user-friendly administrative and policy framework to help us to provide the clinical care that the people of Ireland deserve.
ANSWER: THE HSE MUST BE STREAMLINED AND MUST WORK CLOSELY WITH DOCTORS, NURSES AND PATIENT ADVOCACY GROUPS
If we fix these problems, we will have a health service of which we can be proud.
AS A PATIENT, A TAX-PAYER AND A CITIZEN, DON’T PUT UP WITH LESS THAN:
EQUAL ACCESS TO EXCELLENT HEALTH CARE, REGARDLESS OF ABILITY TO PAY
About Doctors for Better Public Healthcare
The Doctors Alliance for Better Public Healthcare is a network of experienced doctors from every specialty and general practice from around the country, who believe that every patient has the right to the best possible healthcare, and that this can best be provided through a public health system that is appropriately funded, and planned in partnership with the healthcare professionals who provide the service to patients.
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| Orla |
05/05/2007
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