Health Review Group Report is nonsensical and based on fantasy :
Health Review Group Report is nonsensical and based on fantasy :
We in FDI believe that findings in the report by The Independent Review Group into removing private patients from public hospitals is nonsensical and bordering on fantasy.
The group, chaired by Dr Donal de Buitleir were commissioned by the Minister for Health to investigate the impact of no longer treating private patients in public hospitals and found that there would be a €650 million loss in income to those hospitals as hundreds of thousands of patients were forced to use alternative hospitals.
FDI recognise that capacity is an issue in public healthcare in Ireland, however it is not the only issue and we believe that the core issue is that a state run and managed health service will always fail to deliver adequate healthcare for Irish patients. The state commissioned group recommend hiking taxes to make up the difference and believe that once taxes are increased, public hospitals are cleared of private patients and all the waiting lists are miraculously ended that even with reduced premiums (that the report recognises is likely) that up to 800,000 private insurance holders will flood back to the new and improved “free” state service !, We in FDI believe that this is total fantasy and based on nothing only conjecture and an almost cult like loyalty to the state's new Slainte care service.
FDI believe that in a small country with limited capacity and options, that restricting the choices of patients and hiking taxes are not the solution, the solution is for the state to take a back seat not double down on a failed system and to adopt three principles
to make a commitment to universal access to every hospital for every patient based on need
that this be funded by a payment follows the patient at point of delivery in every hospital, therefore a self funded system
and is underpinned by an insurance backed system through a combination of private and a state backed insurance.
More private hospital and insurance options, improved performance from publicly owned hospitals opened to all, working to develop efficiencies and services to deliver a choice and capacity of services to all patients will give more value for money and a vastly better managed and more effective service for all, that will drive costs down due to greater competition and allow more specialisation to do what healthcare is needed for, ie to help sick people get better and this is all that matters.
