HSE Board have an interest in running down health

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

HSE Board have an interest in running down health service

Let’s put a gang of joyriders in charge of road safety. An unbelievably stupid idea? Of course it is, only someone who didn’t give a damn about road safety would even suggest it. So would you put people with a financial interest in running down the public health service in charge of our hospitals?

That’s exactly what the government has done. The Board of the Health Service Executive is full of them. Making profits is what really matters to Brian Cowan and his chums in the PDs and Green Party.

A pitiful public service forces people to buy private health insurance and use private facilities. Just over 50% of the population have done this, mostly to get just basic care without waiting years.

These are the people in charge of running down the health service.

Chairman, Liam Downey, used to be Chief Executive of the medical company, Becton Dickenson. He also sits on the executive of the bosses’ organisation, IBEC.

Another IBEC executive member is Joe Macri, European boss of computer multinational Microsoft.

Donal de Buitlier is a general manager in Allied Irish Banks.

Niamh Brennan, wife of former PD leader Michael McDowell, is an accountant, Professor of Management at UCD, and belongs to the Institute of Directors.

Eugene McCague is one of the owners of law firm, Arthur Cox, whose business clients control much of the country’s wealth. He is also a member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Neither of the two medical members of the Board actually works with people who are ill. Michael Murphy is Dean of Medicine at University College Cork and Anne Scott is Professor of Nursing at Dublin City University.

Psychologist Maureen Gaffney is also on the Board. A regular on RTE radio, she has an opinion on everything, except the state of our hospitals.

Pat Farrell is the former chief executive of Galvia Private Hospital in Galway, and current Chief Executive of the Irish Banking Federation.

Joe Mooney is a newly retired senior civil servant from the Department of Finance, and P.J. Fitzpatrick is Chief Executive of the Courts Service.

WSM

[soldieroflife]

Good post.

I feel this whole centre of excellece strategy is in essence nothing but a money saving measure brought in not because of medical benefit but to reduce output.

Minister Harney reminded us numerous times that the optimum number of centres for Ireland was 8 no matter how people argued. Now we see the likelyhood that 2 of these intend to merge reducing the number to 7, but where is this magical number now.

Turns out the merge didnt provide the oppertunity to invest in another centre for the people of the north west like it should have been, instead is was nothing but a great bit of oppertunism to reduce costs even more!The magic number 8 has suddenly turned to 7.

In the Dáil, on the radio and in debates Minister Mary Harney has used several statistics to back up her strategy. The thing is, these statistics she uses are out of date by no less than 7 years. Indeed she was pulled on this at one point,but in the near future after that incident she quoted the same statistics.

Enda Kenny was shown up for what he was in this whole incident. Instead of simply backing the new centre of excellence which strategically speaking makes most sense to be placed in sligo general hospital, he displayed his utter oppertunist nature by not arguing majorly with FF's policy but adjusting it slightly just so FG could argue with them. He proposed the cancer services were removed from sligo over a couple of years and not all of a sudden,what good is this

mr. kenny also proposed that cancer services remained in a hospital in what county? Yes indeed in his home county of mayo!!sheer local politics and keeping your own boys happy. If he actually believed in keeping them in mayo and sligo then why not in every hospital?The best thing about this whole incident was that Kenny let this out of the bag by accident.

He claimed proposals were to be announced soon on teh subject,but FG officials across the country had no clue what was going on,all were saying different things.then on the radio kenny let it slip that he didnt want sligo to keep their services,but lose them gradually over a couple of years and for mayo to be included in any motion in the dail to keep services in sligeach.

end results,the motion to have another centre of excellence was rejected,[of course it would be when mayo was included with sligo in the motion which provided a get-out clause for those who were going to vote against sligo on its own]thus the cost-cutting continues. mary harney has stated if she didnt go through with this strategy she couldnt look the people of the north west in the eye. Well Minister Harney, you will live to regret this decision, as will the working people.