NEW YEAR WISHES

Prof Brendan Drumm, chief executive of the Health Service Executive.

Prof Brendan Drumm, chief executive of the Health Service Executive.

People are living longer, populations are increasing and getting older and expectations and demands for services are increasing and costs are rising at an alarming rate. Change is not an option - it is a necessity.

Historically, the Irish healthcare system has been predominantly based on hospital access. We intend to move away from this model to a system where people can access services locally. Steps have already been taken to establish teams throughout the country and an additional 100 primary care teams are due to be initiated in 2007. This will mean better local access to a range of non-acute services.

I think everyone wants to build a health and social care system that is sustainable and capable of delivering nationally, consistent high quality services within the resourses available. To achieve this we must, with persistence and determination, radically change the way we organise our serivces and the way we deliver these services.

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This is what our health is all about. The HSE must honour its responsibility to deliver high quality life changing and life saving care and not let this opportunity pass us by.

In conversation with Sylvia Thompson