Mary Lou calls on Bertie Ahern to resign

[factual]

It is heartening to learn that Mary Lou supports today's Dublin Congress of Trade Unions’ rally for decent public health services. She emphasised the extremely poor state of health care in Ireland. e.g. Public patients needing tests for suspected cancer continue to face an eighteen month wait despite government promises of improvements in cancer care services. Hundreds of public patients lie on hospital trolleys every day. etc.

Mary Lou identified inequality as the source of the problem:

“At the root of the current healthcare crisis is the inequality of the two tier-tier public-private system. It is wrong that in this country money can buy you faster access to healthcare while an equally needy patient who cannot pay must wait months or even years.

Mary Lou added "It is time the Taoiseach and Minister Harney accepted responsibility... Both should resign so that an equitable universal health service based on need alone can finally be built and delivered."


Sinn Féin proposals for the delivery of a health service based on equality:


»» Investment of all health funding in the public system and the immediate ending of tax breaks for private hospitals and the notorious ‘co-location’ scheme.

»» Phased transition to full public provision, beginning with medical cards for all under 18.

»» Increase income threshold for qualification for full medical card coverage.

»» End over-centralisation of hospital facilities and reverse cutbacks in key services at local hospitals.

»» Timetabled and fully resourced strategy to deliver the additional 3,000 hospital beds required.

»» Enhanced provision of essential public nursing home beds, community care facilities and home care.

»» Remove the cap on numbers employed in the health service, with emphasis on staff providing care direct to service-users.

[Milton Fine]

I am no fan of Mary Lou MacDonald and Sinn Fein/IRA but fair play to her for attacking Ahern on a substantive issue rather than the witchhunt of Dublin Castle.

Ahern biggest mistake in my view was telling the Health Board employees there would be no redundancies. This rendered the formation of the HSE more or less a waste of time as there could be no synergy. Where there was one accountant earning €100,000 in each health board there could have been one in the HSE but Bertie torpedoed that. I mean, for heavens sake I read recently the HSE could at a cost of €75 million in reduncies save itself €50 million per annum without affecting patients. Middle management and bureaucrats in other words. THIS SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!!!

[Morris Phillips]

Mary who?

[factual]

I am no fan of Mary Lou MacDonald and Sinn Fein/IRA but fair play to her for attacking Ahern on a substantive issue rather than the witchhunt of Dublin Castle.

Ahern biggest mistake in my view was telling the Health Board employees there would be no redundancies. This rendered the formation of the HSE more or less a waste of time as there could be no synergy. Where there was one accountant earning €100,000 in each health board there could have been one in the HSE but Bertie torpedoed that. I mean, for heavens sake I read recently the HSE could at a cost of €75 million in reduncies save itself €50 million per annum without affecting patients. Middle management and bureaucrats in other words. THIS SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!!!

Well said...I agree that Mary Lou deserves credit for keeping the focus on healthare

...and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (the Sinn Féin Dáil leader) today has reinforced Mary Lou's comments saying that the healthcare chaos is the biggest reason for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to resign.

Caoimhghín is today leading the party's contingent on the march and rally for a decent health service.

Caoimhghín said:

"The Taoiseach has major questions to answer about his finances in the past but he has far more to answer for today given the chaotic state of public health services. Less than six months after its formation, the Fianna Fáil/PD/Green Government began to impose cuts in health services. These cuts are affecting patient care despite the false claims of Health Minister Harney and HSE CEO Brendan Drumm that they would not do so.

We have seen cuts across our health services, longer waiting lists for public patients and increased numbers on trolleys in A&E compared to this time last year.

"Chaos in our Health Service is the biggest reason for the Taoiseach to go. He and his Government colleagues have failed miserably in their biggest single responsibility which is to provide a decent health service.

"

I agree with the two Sinn Féin leaders that the health service is in a terribly poor state and the blame must lie squarely with Bertie Ahern.

I agree that he should resign immediately over the healthcare issue.

[CookieMonster]

I am no fan of Mary Lou MacDonald and Sinn Fein/IRA but fair play to her for attacking Ahern on a substantive issue rather than the witchhunt of Dublin Castle.

Ahern biggest mistake in my view was telling the Health Board employees there would be no redundancies. This rendered the formation of the HSE more or less a waste of time as there could be no synergy. Where there was one accountant earning €100,000 in each health board there could have been one in the HSE but Bertie torpedoed that. I mean, for heavens sake I read recently the HSE could at a cost of €75 million in reduncies save itself €50 million per annum without affecting patients. Middle management and bureaucrats in other words. THIS SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!!!

I am in total agreement with Mary Lou, Factual and Milton Fine (the world is surely due to end soon).

Ay present our health service represents some sort of horrible half measure held together by tape and string. It serves to provide care for patients, but not in a timely manner and not without serious mistakes which cost lives.
I'm not an expert but nobody can deny that it is not idea, not by a long shot, and something must be done.

I don't know what that something might be, privatise the whole damn thing, raze the current systems to the ground and start again, or as Milton points out, cut out the parasitic middle level offering the service and the patients nothing and costing them dearly.

[Milton Fine]

I am in total agreement with Mary Lou, Factual and Milton Fine (the world is surely due to end soon).

Ay present our health service represents some sort of horrible half measure held together by tape and string. It serves to provide care for patients, but not in a timely manner and not without serious mistakes which cost lives.
I'm not an expert but nobody can deny that it is not idea, not by a long shot, and something must be done.

I don't know what that something might be, privatise the whole damn thing, raze the current systems to the ground and start again, or as Milton points out, cut out the parasitic middle level offering the service and the patients nothing and costing them dearly.

I know...I'm scared too.

Genuinely, it was Ahern who rendered the integration process a waste of time. Promising there would be no redundancies was a ridiculous thing to do because there are now many people within the HSE doing the same job where far less people would suffice. Just imagine if the cost of their salaries and pensions were redeployed to the front line? The dichotomy is we are looking at the waste and expecting value for money, yet politicians can take unilateral decisions which make no business sense. Many baulk when the Michael O'Leary model is cited because we are talking about health but the one area he refuses to compromise on is safety which is relevant here. How much money do people think is p..sed away in the health service? How much could be saved and used elsewhere to benefit patients if the entity was run like a business? We are certainly talking about billions.