Commitments for new beds and expansion of seven-day health services in draft Programme for Government

Plans to increase the number of emergency medicine consultants by 50 per cent and add up to 4,500 new inpatient hospital beds are outlined in the draft Programme for Government published today.

The document, which is set to be ratified by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the coming days after being approved by a number of independent TDs, also pledges to build four new elective hospitals and establish six surgical hubs in the lifetime of the next Government.

“Through the ongoing implementation of Sláintecare and sustained investment, reform, and leadership, this Government will ensure access to high-quality patient care, reduce waiting times and further cut the cost of accessing care,” the draft publication states.

“Having reviewed the recent two-year agreement, we will develop a multi-annual funding approach for our health service, which will be linked to productivity, staff levels and the delivery of services for patients.”

The document reaffirms commitments to provide greater healthcare access to patients across a seven-day week. It includes promises to provide greater access to diagnostics and routine healthcare services in the evenings and at weekends, while ensuring that more senior staff are rostered in emergency departments during these periods.

Other pledges in the draft Programme for Government include:

• Increase capacity by between 4,000 and 4,500 new and refurbished inpatient hospital beds across the country.
• Expand trauma services, including facilities in Dublin, Cork and Galway, and develop a network of rapid outpatient clinics.
• Standardise the opening hours of injury units to ensure a consistent seven-day service from 8am to 8pm and open at least an additional 12 injury units.
• Continue to roll-out virtual wards and introduce virtual urgent care.
• Continue the development of new ambulance stations and paramedic education and training facilities.
• Commitments to digital health reforms, including the rollout of a National Patient App and the full digitisation of Irish healthcare records.

The document includes promises to act on the final report of the National Taskforce on the Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) Workforce, which included recalibrating work-life balance through improved rosters, reduced work hours, flexible rotations and childcare provisions.

A commitment has also been made to publish the Strategic Review of General Practice, ‘and bring forward a new, modern GP contract’.

The number of GPs will be increased through added training places and international recruitment, while a tuition support scheme for graduate entry medicine programmes will be introduced.

To ease the cost burden on patients, the Government will expand free GP services to children up to the age of 12 ‘and keep its further extension under review’.

They will also look to further increase medical card income limits. The programme includes a commitment to ‘ensure the planned rollout of free HRT medicines is available at no cost for the drug/product’ but says nothing about the cost of dispensing such products, which has been an issue recently raised by pharmacists.

The draft document outlines Government plans to develop and publish new strategies in sexual health, rehabilitation, diabetes care and rare diseases, while ensuring a ‘a transgender healthcare service that is based on clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness and compassion.’

Pledges are also made to increase the number of clinical trials taking place in Ireland, and to review the drugs reimbursement process, which has faced criticism for its slow pace in approving new medicines.

Reforms in the area of medical negligence have been outlined, as per recent calls by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA). Under this programme, the next Government will prioritise the introduction of a court supervised mediation-based process for managing neonatal brain injury medical negligence cases.

It will also consider the establishment of a dedicated medical negligence court and implement the recommendations of the Report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Rising Cost of Health-Related Claims ‘and make it easier and less stressful for patients when things go wrong’.