Press release
Minister for Health Publishes Sláintecare Action Plan 2019
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Health publishes Sláintecare Action Plan 2019, outlining approach for delivery of Sláintecare and milestones to be achieved by the end of the year.
Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, has today (Thursday) published the Sláintecare Action Plan 2019, outlining the project management structures and governance approach for the 10-year implementation of Sláintecare and the actions and milestones for 2019.
The Action Plan, developed by the Sláintecare Programme Implementation Office, is a fundamental enabler in the delivery of the Sláintecare vision for reformed health and social care services in Ireland.
Minister Harris said:
“Sláintecare will deliver a health and social care service that meets the needs of our population and attracts and retains the very best healthcare professionals, managers and staff. Our core objective is to shift the majority of care from the acute to the community setting to bring care closer to home for service users."
“This will help us reduce waiting lists and waiting times and ultimately meet our goal of improving population health. Over a ten-year period, Sláintecare will deliver a service that offers the right care, in the right place, at the right time."
“To implement this ambitious reform programme, it is essential that we establish a clear, accountable and structured annual plan for delivery, and the 2019 Action Plan that I am publishing today is just that. It is a detailed and comprehensive plan for 2019 which firmly establishes a programmatic approach to the delivery of the Sláintecare Strategy."
“As the Action Plan sets out, considerable work is already underway to deliver on the commitments made in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy. Earlier this year, my department announced the appointment of eight new members of the HSE Board, one of the key recommendations of Sláintecare. Enhancing governance and accountability in the health and social care service is integral to Sláintecare reform and the new HSE Board will work with the HSE to implement Sláintecare.”
Executive Director of the Sláintecare Programme Implementation Office, Laura Magahy, said:
“The 2019 Action Plan uses a Citizen Care Masterplan Framework to underpin the project delivery of the very ambitious Sláintecare Strategy. It is essential that all parts of the health and social care system are involved in Sláintecare as these actions will be delivered through and with these partners."
2019 will see us putting in place some essential building blocks to ensure that by the end of the reform programme, the right care is being delivered in the right place, at the right time.”
Anne O’Connor, Interim Director General of the HSE, said:
“This Plan sets out the key activities that will guide the reform of the health services in 2019 and beyond. The HSE looks forward to working in partnership with our stakeholders in order to deliver on these important actions.”
The publication of the Action Plan follows the second meeting of the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council (SIAC), chaired by Dr Tom Keane, which met on Wednesday 27th February.
Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council Chair, Dr Tom Keane, said:
“This Action Plan is deeply rooted in the original vision set out by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare, and one which has been informed by stakeholders from across the health and social care service."
As I know from experience, implementation does not happen overnight. However, with the keen focus on structured delivery that this Action Plan presents, I am confident that we have identified and sequenced the first essential steps needed to create the foundations for an Irish health and social care service that, in due course, will provide the right service, in the right place, at the right time."
The key Sláintecare actions to be delivered in 2019 include the following:
Workstream 1 – Service Re-design and Supporting Infrastructure:
Workstream 2: Safe Care, Coordinated Governance and Value for Money:
Workstream 3: Teams of the Future:
Workstream 4: Sharing Progress:
ENDS
Sláintecare represents cross-party political consensus on the future of our health and social care services that is unique in the history of the State. Built on consensus, Sláintecare is a ten-year programme to transform our health and social care services.
Over the next ten years, Sláintecare will:
Under the Programme for a Partnership Government, an All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare was established in June 2016 to create a cross-party vision for the future of our health and social care services. The Committee sat for almost a year, engaging with stakeholders across the system and published the Sláintecare Report in May 2017.
The Sláintecare Implementation Strategy was published in August 2018, setting out the framework within which a system-wide reform programme will be advanced.
The Sláintecare Implementation Strategy is available at www.gov.ie/slaintecare.
23 members have been appointed to the Advisory Council for a 3-year period commencing on 24th October 2018.
Dr Tom Keane is Chair of the Council. Learn more about the Membership of the Council, its terms of reference and full biographies of members.