Towards a new National Community Health Service

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Labour will extend the Counselling in Primary Care service to all 16- 25 year olds on completion of eMental Health courses and with a GP’s recommendation, and introduce additional training for GPs in recognition, detection and intervention using standardised mental health screening tools in all practices. We will establish a mental health awareness and advertising programme to build resilience and breakdown prejudices. A new service will be developed to address dual diagnosis (addiction and mental health), headed by a new HSE National Director for Alcohol and Addiction. We will establish a registration and licensing system for all practising counsellors, therapists and psychologists. We will extend the opening hours of Community Mental Health Centres into the late evening and through the weekend, and extend the Jigsaw service to all major towns and cities. The full details of our approach to mental health wellbeing will be published in Labour’s plan for mental health. Palliative Care We will ensure that quality palliative care is available to all those who need it. We will continue to support work on the needs of general, maternity and paediatric hospitals to develop comprehensive plans for palliative, end-of-life and bereavement care. We will continue to rollout Standards for Bereavement Care Following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death 2016 and establish trained bereavement teams in each maternity unit/hospital. Improving accountability in the hospital system Like all aspects of the public service, it is paramount that Irish hospitals are run in the best interests of the country and in as transparent and effective a manner as possible. Labour firmly believes that a clear plan is now required to address poor or absent systems of accountability, persistent cost overruns and the lack of definition of clear responsibility between the HSE and the Minister for Health. We must address key issues of corporate governance, financial planning and ministerial oversight and responsibility. If returned to Government, we will put in place a new Corporate Governance and Financial Planning Strategy for hospitals. We will require that the business plans for hospitals are put on a statutory basis, that all hospitals agree service level agreements and individual hospitals publish their annual accounts. We will also transition the funding of our hospitals from a block grant basis to an activity basis so that money follows the patient first and foremost. Hospital boards must be modern and fit for purpose. The diversity of hospital ownership and type across the country varies greatly as does the quality and control of hospital boards. Change will involve altering the balance of ministerial appointments, vetting the competence of board members and ensuring greater gender balance. We will require that the accounts of hospitals are audited by the C&AG and that hospital CEOs appear before the Public Accounts Committee. A critical part of a new framework of accountability in the hospital system must be provision for intervention where hospitals or sections of hospitals are underperforming. We will introduce powers to intervene and take over the management of hospitals or sections of hospitals under specific circumstances and for specified periods. Investing in our health and well-being One in every three people in Ireland suffers from a chronic disease, with a 40% increase in chronic diseases expected by 2020. Currently, the number one disease in Ireland is obesity. The World Health Organisation predicts that Ireland will be the most obese country in Europe by 2030 if urgent action is not taken. Labour in Government is determined to meet this challenge and improve the level of public health through a variety of initiatives. We need to both change behaviours and extend the services available to assist people in staying healthy in their day-to-day lives. Improved 10 Towards a new National Community Health Service Labour Healthcare doc.indd 10 11/02/2016 15:04
access to GPs and community healthcare initiatives will do much to address these needs, but we must do more. Labour in Government is determined to meet this challenge and improve the level of public health through a variety of initiatives We will respond to the obesity crisis by introducing a tax on sugar sweetened drinks within the first year of being returned to Government. This will be levied on a volumetric basis and can be expected to have a significant public health impact, particularly for children. In addition we will ring fence the proceeds from the tax for investment in a number of health awareness programmes for children. We will also further restrict food advertising, in particular the marketing of foods high in salt, sugar and fat. We will introduce national regulations for front-of-pack traffic light labelling on all food and drink products. In this way we can empower people, especially parents to clearly determine the contents of the food they buy and its potential effects on individual health. We have begun to implement the Healthy Ireland programme, bringing a renewed focus to positive health and well-being. Providing the right supports to empower every person to eat right and to raise healthy children is going to be an essential task of the next Government. We will establish mother and baby clinics to become a one-stop shop for families and introduce health awareness programmes for pre-school and school age children in the areas of nutrition, alcohol and dental hygiene. We will double the number of schools under the Active Flag programme, introduce new school cycling initiatives, and make sure that all schools are involved in growing food. These steps will ensure healthy living and good nutrition is emphasised at every stage of a child’s development. Towards a new National Community Health Service 11 Labour Healthcare doc.indd 11 11/02/2016 15:04
Page 1 and 2: Towards a new National Community He
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION Labour in Government i
Page 5 and 6: Prioritising Primary Care The provi
Page 7 and 8: solutions to overcrowding in emerge
Page 9: hospitals, with a strong record of
Page 13 and 14: Policy Mental Health Anti discrimin

Towards a new National Community Health Service

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