Government approves Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-23
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 12 May 2021
- Last updated on: 10 June 2021
Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has today published the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023.
Sláintecare is about delivering a safe, quality health and social care service that meets the needs of our growing population, and attracts and retains the very best healthcare clinicians, managers, and staff.
The new Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023 sets out the priorities and actions for the next phase of the reform programme. The aim is to deliver a universal health service that offers the right care, in the right place, at the right time, at low or no cost.
The Strategy and Action Plan has been developed factoring in the learnings from COVID-19 and the new context within which the health system operates, the agreed Programme for Government and engagement with key stakeholders and partners.
Over the next three years, Sláintecare will work with partners to:
- implement a multi annual plan to reduce waiting lists in hospital and the community
- begin construction on new elective hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway
- roll-out the Sláintecare Consultant Contract, permitting public-only work in public hospitals
- hire 7,000 new community-based healthcare staff
- deliver 31 new Primary Care Centres, creating a total of 173 around the country
- invest in 32 Community Specialist Hubs for older people and people living with chronic disease
- provide additional health resources in 18 communities of most disadvantage across Ireland to address health inequalities
- mainstream access for patients to direct diagnostics through GPs
- develop Policy Proposals for achieving Universal Eligibility
- create 6 new Regional Health Areas
- establish 96 new Community Healthcare Networks to support integrated care across primary, community and acute care
- invest in Healthy Ireland to keep people well in their own communities
- scale Innovation projects that support patient safety initiatives
- put in place a digital Shared Care Record so people have access to their health records no matter where they are being treated
Minister Donnelly said:
"I am delighted that Government has approved the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023 today. This represents the next stage in an exciting and ambitious programme for reform of the health system. I believe Sláintecare is delivering much-needed health reform, and that now is the time to accelerate this."
He continued:
"Considerable progress has already been made in moving Sláintecare from vision to reality. Major foundational decisions have been made by Government, including the establishment of the HSE Board and the approval of the geographies for six new regional health areas, the agreement on the GP, Public Health Doctor, and Consultant Public-only Contracts, the widening of eligibility to citizens for general practice, as well as reduction in prescription charges to the public.
"The government has also committed an additional investment of €1.23bn in Sláintecare initiatives in 2021, with additional capacity being created within acute hospitals, community and social care, the rollout of the enhanced community care programme and promotion of healthy living."
He added:
"We know that our health and social care providers have worked tirelessly throughout the last year. The pandemic has challenged our health services in many ways, but it has also demonstrated the willingness and eagerness of our staff and our systems to innovate and adapt for the benefit of patients. Many of the changes we have seen throughout the pandemic have embodied the core Sláintecare principle of delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time."
He concluded:
"Now is the time to harness this energy and appetite for change so that we reform our health and social care service for the long-term. I believe that this next phase of the Sláintecare reform programme will do just that."
Laura Magahy, Executive Director of the Sláintecare Programme Implementation Office said:
"Two Sláintecare reform programmes have been identified as requiring urgent focus to deliver on the all-party vision for offering the people of Ireland the right care, in the right place, at the right time. These two reform programmes and associated projects build on the substantial reforms demonstrated through our integration/innovation programme, and resonate with the needs of the public and align with the government’s commitment to move towards universal healthcare.
"Firstly, we know that our waiting lists are too long, and we are committed to reducing them by undertaking a series of connected initiatives focusing on providing extra capacity in the system, encouraging productivity measures, and ensuring that care is offered in the right location, in-order-to ultimately achieve Sláintecare waiting time targets. Secondly, our health is affected by unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population, and between different groups within society arising from the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. We are committed to addressing health inequalities and move towards universal healthcare in this Programme."
Professor Tom Keane, Chair of the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council said:
"The Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023 being launched today, builds on foundational work and steady progress which has been made in implementing the Sláintecare vision for the future of health and social care in Ireland.
"The two Reform Programmes and the associated unprecedented funding will have a major impact on the short, medium and, long term future of Ireland’s health and social care systems. These Programmes are fully aligned to the Sláintecare vision to provide the right care in the right place at the right time and to progress the goal of delivering universal healthcare based on need rather than the ability to pay."
The Sláintecare Implementation and Strategic Action Plan 2021-2023 is closely aligned to the HSE’s Corporate Strategy 2021-2023 and the HSE’s National Service Plan and sets out the key activities that will guide the reform of the health services in 2021 and beyond.
Notes
Sláintecare Reform Programmes 2021-2023
Through research, workshops, and engagement, two Sláintecare Reform Programmes have been prioritised for focused implementation over the next three years.
They are:
- Reform Programme 1: Improving Safe, Timely Access to Care and Promoting Health and Wellbeing
- Reform Programme 2: Addressing Health Inequalities — towards Universal Healthcare
These Reform Programmes will involve the work, support, and active engagement of key partners, including the Department of Health, cross government departments, their agencies, in particular the HSE, health and social care workers and their representative organisations, community and voluntary organisations, and the private sector.
Reform Programme 1 – Improving Safe, Timely Access to Care and Promoting Health and Wellbeing
- work to move care out of acute hospitals into the community and closer to a person’s home
- establish 96 new Community Healthcare Networks to support integrated care across primary, community and acute care
- develop new Primary Care Centres, recruit up to 7,000 community-based healthcare staff, the creation of Community Specialist Hubs including Integrated Care Programmes for Older People, the National Falls Prevention Programme and the recruitment of Dementia Advisors
- nationally scale and mainstream successful Sláintecare Innovation Fund projects to drive the integration of care between community and hospital settings
- expand the Innovation Fund to focus on improving outcomes for communities of particular need and deliver improved patient pathway projects
- streamline new care pathways to help drive better integration between care settings. We will work with GPs, hospitals, community partners and the HSE to agree streamlined pathways, enabled by technology and digital innovations. These new pathways, which will be agreed across the system, will provide better links across care settings, make best use of resources and help speed up the delivery of care
- develop a multi-annual plan to reduce all waiting lists
- develop workforce plans to ensure the workforce will be aligned to the services required, where funded. This will include better co-ordination of training and education to ensure that sufficient professionals are trained, attracted and retained in the areas where need is anticipated and better use of technology and the introduction of agreed care pathways
- the establishment of a clinically-led group for each discipline to agree end-to-end referral pathways. This will help meet Sláintecare waiting time targets of:
o 12 weeks for Inpatient procedure
o 10 weeks for outpatient appointment
o 10 days for diagnostics test
o a maximum waiting time in our EDs of four-hours
- progress the eHealth Programme and provide significant investment in eHealth capital and staffing. Improving our e-Health and digital infrastructure will support integration and help keep people well in the community or at home and will make the system more efficient
- introduce the Sláintecare Consultant Contract, which will permit public-only work to be undertaken in public hospitals - This will be the first step along the road to removing private practice from public hospitals, ensuring that public healthcare facilities are used for public patients only and that public patients can access public hospitals based on clinical need only and not ability to pay
Reform Programme 2: Addressing Health Inequalities
- improve the long-term health and wellbeing of the most disadvantaged communities in Ireland through the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme. 18 areas across the country will receive investment in 2021… targeting smoking, social prescribing, parenting, healthy eating, access to sport, physical activity and the arts
- develop a Business Plan and change management programme to implement the six new Regional Health Areas as approved by Government in 2019. At the moment, community healthcare and hospital care are delivered separately with separate budgets. The new health regions will help us to plan and provide better healthcare, with a shared budget to care for the people living in each region
- implement the Obesity Policy and Action Plan 2016-2025. This will include implementation of the Healthy Weight for Children, to promote best practices in reformulation, marketing and food procurement. We will work cross-government to strengthen the delivery of agreed national programmes and initiatives including NURTURE, START campaign, SMART Start, Wellbeing Curriculum in Schools and Healthy Food Made Easy
See the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan.