Councillor suggests new regional health authorities

A new managerial structure which will see the establishment of up to nine regional health authorities designed to streamline the way the organisation works should not go ahead, a Meath councillor said this week. Instead, Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said, the Government should set up regional health authorities made up of health professionals, public representatives and community representatives which would 'see a true reflection of the local communities which they are meant to serve'. Under the HSE"s plan, managers of smaller general hospitals would report to local health managers who, in turn, would report to a regional manager. The State"s larger hospitals, which offer tertiary specialist care to patients, are likely to report to a single national director rather than a regional manager, according to an Irish Times report. The HSE is said to be sensitive about the creation of eight new regions because this would equal the original number of health boards which were abolished to make way for health forums which have a consultative role. However, Cllr Fitzgerald, a former member of the North-Eastern Health Board, said this is exactly what the Government should do. 'We need a return to regional health boards which would truly reflect the needs of the people in those regions. The Government decided that the health boards were not 'fit for purpose". Yet, look at the monster they have created in the HSE. The staff in the HSE may be working, but the system is clearly not,' he added. The councillor said that there should be a return to regional health boards 'with statutory powers'. 'I believe that such a return would be of benefit to the management and staff of the HSE. When the old health boards were there, there was a clear identity. They should be responsible on a mandatory basis to the public. The boards should be involved in running the annual budget - with a capital and a revenue account - and this should be broken down in a clear fashion so that people will know the financial needs and limits in health spending. But first, he said, the Government should admit that it was wrong in abolishing the health boards. 'If they made that admission, and made a bold gesture in setting up proper health boards, the people would come in behind them. We have 400,000 people in this region, including Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, and we need to be able to identify areas where money is badly needed in services for children, disabled persons, women and the elderly. At the moment, we don"t know what is happening in our own region. All public representatives can do is react to the things that are going wrong and that is no use.' There was a clear need for proactive measures in the health area, he said. 'Now that the decision has been made about the site of the new regional hospital, let us get on with the business in a more accountable way.'