The HSE will publish all board meeting papers after each session, waiting lists by hospital and specialty, regular updates on spending, and internal audits on a quarterly basis, under a proposed ‘trust and confidence’ plan.
The proposed actions for 2022 include two operational items – six further ambulatory gynaecology units to be delivered by the end of this year and development of the obstetric event support team programme, which provides support and oversight to adverse incidents in maternity services.
According to the HSE, in February 2021 “we started work to help us understand what trust means to the public, our staff and patients, and service users. This involves a programme of research, consultation, and action.”
In September, it asked 2,000 members of the public about their levels of trust in the HSE: 39 per cent said they had a high level, 43 per cent a medium level, and 19 per cent a low level.
“The biggest drivers of trust for the HSE focus on ‘public good’…. The greatest area of concern in this area is long waiting lists and access to care,” said its spokesperson.
According to a presentation on trust in the HSE, “we are broadly trusted as an institution, but many are uncertain one way or another.”
“We believe we may have lost trust due to issues involving CervicalCheck, but believe we have gained trust through our response to Covid-19 and the vaccination programme.”
On the proposed actions for 2022, its spokesperson commented: “This is an initial trust and confidence plan containing initial actions that we will be strengthening as our consultation with staff continues. The inclusion of the actions that involve gynaecology and obstetrics does not mean it is our only priority and more actions will be added later this year after further research and consultation.”
Consultancy spend on the plan was €149,000 in 2021.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.