Govt accused of not meeting healthcare promises
The Government has overwhelmingly failed to deliver on promises of substantial investment in the fledgling primary care health system, it was claimed today.
As the National Primary Care Steering Group launched its first progress report, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) claimed there had been practically no progress at all.
Dr James Reilly, IMO chairman, said: “Since it was launched in 2002 this entire system has been a dangerous process for everyone involved.
“It raised the expectations of medical practitioners and patients alike and then failed to deliver.”
He claimed Health Minister Micheál Martin had promised to invest €1.3bn in the primary care system over 10 years, but in fact the funding had not even topped €12m before being reduced year on year.
But during heated argument, Mr Martin insisted he had made no such promises.
“I accept that investment has been less than 100%,” he said. “We have not been in a position to allocate the degree of investment we would like but it’s not all about the money. It’s about making sure we have the correct working model.”
The steering group was established in 2002 to advise the Government on primary health care strategy. Ten implementation projects were launched throughout the country to test the system.
