A single tier health system makes perfect sense - Bree
People were looking for change in society and and the area of health care was one of those in which they wanted to see it most, councillor Declan Bree told the meeting.
He said that for too many years the public sector in this country was undermined and criticized by those who sought to profit at the expense or ordinary people.
“Over the years we were encouraged to believe that the private sector was best, was most reliable, most efficient and most effective.
“However, the Covid-19 Pandemic has exposed the myth of the supremacy of the private sector and the market in meeting our needs.
“Today, a growing number of people are beginning to understand the need for real social change.
“They recognise that concepts and ideas which seemed impossible a short while ago, such as a single tier health system, now make perfect sense.
“Since my first days in politics I have always advocated for a universal public health system that provides care to all at the point of delivery, on the basis of need and not on the basis of how much money they had.
“For too long the health system that has existed in this country has failed to deliver. It has failed because it is a grossly unfair and inequitable two-tier system.
“Ability to pay has been the key determining factor in access to care both in terms of timely access and, in many cases, quality of care.
“Month after month we have witnessed public waiting-lists continue to rise while at the same time we witnessed the growth of private medicine and medical corporations and the tendering out of health services, enriching private interests at the expense of the public good.
“More and more people despite the costs, felt compelled to buy private health insurance because they had a great fear of being left on long waiting lists.
“Today, private medical operators are waiting in the wings to demand more from the public purse because of the Covid-19 threat. As Covid-19 has revealed, the public good is not compatible with private corporate profit and greed.
“In this context we need to make our voices heard in seeking a universal health and social care system which will deliver services in a way that is efficient, effective and sustainable, meeting the needs of our population, of all patients, families, people with disabilities, people with mental health needs, the elderly and the young.
“We need a universal single-tier service where patients will be treated on the basis of health need rather than on ability to pay.
“President Michael D. Higgins recently wrote that the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that “New ideas are now required – ideas based on equality, universal public services, equity of access, sufficiency, sustainability.”
“I believe he is right and I believe it is now time to challenge the myth of the supremacy of the private sector.”
Cllr Bree’s motion calling on the incoming government to introduce a universal one-tier healthcare system which will guarantee access to medical care on the basis of medical need, not income was seconded by Cllr Gino O’Boyle and unanimously adopted.