Fiery Harris letter to HSE chief binned in favour of bland missive
A SEARING letter from Minister Simon Harris to the director general of the HSE demanding a personal assurance of improved hospital performance was binned by the Department of Health.
The draft document, prepared shortly before the announcement of the ‘winter initiative’ to tackle overcrowding, was never sent and in its place a bland letter welcoming the plan issued to the HSE instead.
The letter in its original form – obtained via a Freedom of Information application – launched a blistering attack on the HSE and its performance in managing hospital queues.
It was addressed to Director General Tony O’Brien with a plan for it to be sent as the €40m winter initiative was set for launch in September.
In the draft letter, Mr Harris wrote: ‘It is important that I convey to you as Minister for Health that each and every one of us with a role to play in delivering safe and effective care for our patients can never be complacent or satisfied when every day unacceptably large numbers of people wait on our trolleys, wait in hospital beds for more appropriate care in other environments, and wait at home to get access to essential services.’
The letter then sought an assurance from Mr O’Brien that ‘every measure’ be taken to ensure improved health services in the months to come.
It also said that while the initiative would set targets for the winter plan, these targets could not be interpreted as being acceptable.
Mr Harris’s draft letter said: ‘These cannot be seen as suggesting that we are tolerant of such conspicuous need and suffering on the part of many of our most vulnerable members of society.’
Ultimately, a letter of an entirely different tone was sent thanking the HSE for its work on preparing the plan.
In it, the minister said he welcomed the winter initiative and its focus on supporting people to avoid hospital altogether and getting them discharged in a timely fashion.
The only hint of the previously fiery missive came in the final paragraph when Mr Harris looked for weekly updates on progress.
He wrote: ‘It is essential that in the coming winter, every
Draft warned against complacency
effort is made to ensure that patients experience a safer, better quality service provided in the most appropriate setting.’
As was starkly illustrated this week, the €40m plan has been largely ineffective, and more than 540 people languished on trolleys at hospitals all around the country on Tuesday.
This was despite a pledge in the winter initiative that there would be no more than 236 patients on trolleys on any day.
That target has not been met and Tuesday’s figure was worse than on the same date last year when 331 people lay on trolleys.
In a statement, the department said the initiative had been successful in some respects with ‘delayed discharges’ down from 638 at the start of the plan to 488 midway through last week.
It said 4,100 people had made use of community intervention team services, meaning they avoided hospital or were discharged earlier.
In addition, new home care packages were provided, with 250 transitional care beds, as well as 28 step-down beds in Mercy Hospital in Cork and Beaumont in Dublin.
Regarding the discarded letter the department said: ‘These drafts were prepared as part of the normal process of internal departmental communication to approve a letter from the minister conveying approval of the final proposal.’
Final letter welcomed HSE winter efforts