The current “flu crisis” highlights how vulnerable the Irish healthcare system is to “shifts in demand”, the IMO President Dr Denis McCauley has warned.
Dr McCauley added that talks to form the new government must focus on health “as a priority” and address chronic capacity issues in public health services.
“The entire system of GP and hospital health services should not come to a crisis point because of a predictable jump in illness from something like a seasonal flu,” said Dr McCauley. “We are pushing our health services too hard, for too much of the year and there is no spare capacity to cope with something like a flu outbreak.”
Dr McCauley said that the first action of a new government must be to reverse the ‘Pay and Numbers Strategy’, which was introduced by the Department of Health and the HSE in 2024. According to the IMO, this strategy was essentially the “recruitment embargo in disguise” and it has set a “hugely damaging” staffing limit, with a subsequent negative effect on patient care as vital posts are not being filled.
Dr McCauley also said that the next government must rapidly increase workforce and bed capacity. “For years we have tolerated huge numbers of patients on trolleys, work environments for doctors that are full of risk for them and their patients, too few doctors and increasing waiting lists across key specialties. This is unacceptable and cannot continue.”
The IMO President added that should be a full review of how mental health services are resourced and delivered in Ireland.
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