More managers won’t cure the HSE malady

YOU know there is desperation in the air when something which has already been tried and failed is revived to fix a dismally familiar problem. The scramble to manage the multi-headed hydra that is the HSE in the wake of the cervical test scandal continued yesterday, with another plan for “structural reform”.

The big idea being dusted off is to restore the HSE board and to conduct a review of the current management system in order to restore public confidence.

That didn’t work out so well the last time. In fact, another former Fine Gael health minister, James Reilly, sacked the board. Is the descent into madness not marked by doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting alternate results?

If something is broken you repair it, you don’t flam about or roll out soundbites where solutions are needed.

The massive failures exposed in the cancer tragedy demand fundamental change. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken tirelessly about the need for accountability. We do not need to talk about it – we need to see it.

Confidence in an organisation is not built by spin, but through results and performance. The HSE’s credentials depend on a patient’s positive outcomes. Its reputation must be built on trust driven by performance. Mistakes must be recognised, dealt with and exposed – not concealed or glossed over.

Credibility is the fruit of a satisfactory experience. It has to be earned, not manufactured. If truth and honesty are to be central to HSE culture, there must be zero tolerance for anyone obstructing it.

Imposing another tier of management on top of an institution replete with managers within its more than 100,000-strong ranks falls far short of a cure.