It is important that those now managing the recently abolished health boards take decisions in a transparent and open way over the next six months, the chief executive of the South Eastern Health Board (SEHB) has warned.
Mr Pat McLoughlin said that since health boards were formally abolished last month and their functions transferred to their chief executives, the normal monthly meetings of health boards, which were attended by local councillors and professional groups, and covered by the media, would no longer be taking place. In their absence, however, there had to be accountability, he said.
He has decided that from this month the SEHB management team will meet in committee as an executive board on the same day as the health board used to meet in public, and that afterwards a copy of the agenda will be distributed, and journalists briefed on what went on.
"The agenda will be typical of the previous board agenda, the minutes of the meetings will be provided to public representatives, to the regional partnership committee, to staff associations, placed on the Intranet and provided to the media," Mr McLoughlin said.
A number of other health board CEOs are also making plans to brief former health board members regularly on their activities until such time as the new Health Service Executive takes over the day-to-day running of the service in January.
An Eastern Regional Health Authority official said arrangements were being made by management in the three area boards in the eastern region to brief councillors on their activities.