Population spike puts Sláintecare ‘out of date’

THE Government’s long-awaited plans to reform the health system will need to be significantly revised due to the country’s growing population, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association’s annual general meeting heard yesterday.

University College Cork health researcher and economics lecturer Dr Brian Turner, told the conference that April’s census results showed the Sláintecare plan is out of date.

The more than five million people recorded on the census is almost as many as the Sláintecare plan had anticipated would be living here by 2026.

The sudden growth will make the plan even less likely to succeed without revision, Dr Turner warned, with hospitals already massively underresourced.

The shortage of beds and consultants was the pervading theme of yesterday’s conference, at which IHCA president Dr Rob Landers warned of a ‘tough winter’ ahead.

In his address, Dr Landers said eight out of 10 consultants reported feeling burned out.

‘You look at the numbers – some 910,000 people waiting to be assessed and treated by a hospital consultant, over 900 permanent hospital consultant posts unfilled – and you worry,’ he said.

An IHCA statement ahead of the conference called for a ‘laser-like focus’ in securing more beds and consultants.

‘Demand has long since outstripped supply when it comes to acute hospital care,’ it said.