The Taoiseach has defended the Government's health strategy following criticism from opposition parties that it is little more than "an election gimmick".
The £10b plan, published today, aims to create an extra 3,000 hospital beds and to cut waiting lists to not more than three months.
Speaking on the 6:01 news Bertie Ahern said that there were several areas in the healthcare system that needed to be addressed but that this new strategy aimed to do just that.
"Quality and Fairness - a Health System for You", is a wide ranging document, with an ambitious agenda for changing almost every aspect of the health services, from primary care, to how the Department is structured.
At the centre of the comprehensive document is an action plan with four goals: better health for everyone, fair access, responsive and appropriate care delivery, and high performance. It contains a list of 121 actions to be carried out within its lifetime. The actions have target dates and allocations of responsibility.
Three thousand hospital beds will be put in place by 2011, through a combination of public and private providers. Two hundred of the 650 beds to be provided in the coming year will be contracted in the private sector.
A new National Hospitals Agency will decide where these beds go, and to what specialities. This Agency will also take over the role of national hospital planning from the country's health boards. The number of health boards will remain the same.
Reflecting the Progressive Democrats plan, a National Treatment Purchase Team will immediately take over the management of hospital waiting lists. This team will purchase treatments in Ireland or abroad for public patients.
The Strategy says that admission of private patients to public hospitals may have to be suspended if targets for reducing waiting times are not achieved. Eligibility for medical cards will be widened.
The document predicts that the forthcoming negotiations on the consultants’ contract will look at the restructuring of key elements, including more flexible work practices, and accountability initiatives. It proposes that newly appointed consultants work exclusively for public patients for a specified number of years.
There are no specific targets for increased staffing, except that "substantial further numbers" will be employed over the next five to seven years, with "substantial increases" in the number of consultants.
The plan also aims to increase the number of consultants at Accident and Emergency departments to ensure 24-hour cover.
There will be changes in the GP system. Among the initiatives will be the creation of one-stop shops with GPs, dentists, and other practitioners sharing the same premises. For the elderly, there will be an increase in the amount of day places and beds.
The Strategy is estimated to cost £10bn: £6.1bn in capital spending, in addition to the £2bn already allocated to Health in the National Development Plan, and £4bn for non-capital spending.
However, it also states that the Government will give priority to investment in the health system, provided all necessary reforms and improvements in practices called for in the Strategy are seen to be advanced.
