Our Hospitals and Primary Care

 

Our Vision for Healthcare In Ireland: 

A Great Place to Work, A Great Place to Receive Care

01

Overcrowding, Prolonged A&E Waiting Times, Delayed Discharges

  • Increase bed capacity and aim for a four-hour target wait for Emergency Departments.
  • Ensure there is an emergency medicine consultant present in emergency departments 24-hours.
  • Improve access to diagnostics for Emergency Departments and GPs with a new minor capital grant fund of €50m.
  • Remove recruitment embargo, target staffing allocations of additional consultants and nurses to critical areas in Emergency Departments.
  • Commence the 2,600 additional hospital beds recommended under the Capacity Review.
  • Significantly increase home care support hours to alleviate delayed discharges.
  • Examine how the district hospital network can be utilised more to provide step down facilities.
East Galway Healthcare 4
East Galway Healthcare 5

02

Supporting General Practice

  • Expand free GP care on the basis of means in line with Sláintecare’s goals and in alignment with an expansion in capacity.
  • Implement the recently agreed changes to the GP contract and include provisions for its continuous assessment and improvement.
  • Negotiate a new contract to underpin General Practice for the next 30 years to include issues such as Women’s Health Programmes, Out of Hours Services and Services to patients in Nursing Homes.
  • Increase GP training places to 274.
  • Protect rural GP practices by increasing the allowance to €30,000.

03

Mental Health Supports

The need for strong mental health supports is ever-growing, especially among younger people. Many parents have great concerns about the wellbeing of their children especially in a world of social media interaction. We will work to develop 21st-century skills such as teamwork, empathy, and resilience in school and youth settings. 

By providing a strong suite of measures of early intervention programmes designed to prevent mental ill-health developing in the first place we are committed to implementing a “Vision for change” and have allocated the €200m in additional spending required by that policy to finance the specific measures included in this.

East Galway Healthcare 6
East Galway Healthcare 7

04

Reduce waiting lists and waiting times

  • Increase the National Treatment Purchase Fund to €200 million.
  • Put the emphasis on reducing waiting times.
  • Ensure that anyone waiting more than six months for a procedure will be able to apply to the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

05

Home Help Packages

  • Provide an additional five million hours of home care support.
  • Implement a statutory homecare scheme.
  • Deliver a ‘Carers Guarantee’ proposal that will provide a core basket of services to carers across the country regardless of where they live.
East Galway Healthcare 8
East Galway Healthcare 9

06

Support Residential Care and the Fair Deal

  • Increase Fair Deal funding by €225m.
  • Develop a national strategy for long-term residential care of our older people that includes current and future plans for the funding and financing of this care.
  • Ensure that no Fair Deal resident is charged for services they do not use.
  • Implement the proposed Fair Deal changes for farming families.
  • Introduce an independent appeal process for nursing home providers under the Nursing Home Support Scheme.

07

Respite Hours

Urgent action is taken to better support carers and address years of underspending on homecare, carers payments and respite care. 

An accruing problem that will not go away.

East Galway Healthcare 10
East Galway Healthcare 11

06

Recruit More Nurses

  • Recruit 4,000 additional nursing staff over the next five years.
  • Within this number we will ensure that GP’s practice nurse numbers are increased by 300 and public health nurses by 350.
  • Implement the safe staffing framework in all hospitals.
  • Target increased numbers to decrease the overreliance on agency staff.

Recruit Extra Consultants

  • Negotiate a new contract with consultants.
  • End pay inequality for post 2012 entrants.
  • Recruit at least 800 extra consultants over five years.

Your passport to healthcare: get access to healthcare in any EU country with the European Health Insurance Card

Travel plans in Europe? Or temporarily residing in a different EU country? The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is a free card provided by national health insurance providers, granting individuals access to essential, state-provided healthcare during their...

Minister Rabbitte welcomes commitment to Galway Cancer Centre in HSE Capital Plan 2023

Minister Anne Rabbitte has welcomed the inclusion of plans for the Cancer Centre in University Hospital Galway as part of the HSE’s Capital Plan 2023. An extension to Portiuncula ED is also earmarked. Minister Rabbitte has been working with the Saolta Group,...

Government allocate an additional €700,000 in Dormant Accounts Funding for counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic services for children

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman T.D., today announced the allocation of €700,000 in Dormant Accounts funding to 37 community and voluntary organisations. This additional funding increases counselling,...

Minister of State for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, is delighted to announce the establishment of two additional Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Teams for CHO areas 2 and 4.

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Government announce successful applicants for GAA Walking Tracks Initiative

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Minister Rabbitte welcomes €3m investment for Galway CoCo walking and cycling infrastructure this year 

Minister for Disability and Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East, Anne Rabbitte, has welcomed the allocation of €3 million to Galway County Council for developing walking and cycling infrastructure in 2023. A total of 22 Active Travel projects are being funded by the...

The National IPB Pride of Place Awards Ceremony is taking place this Saturday 21st January from 7pm

The National IPB Pride of Place Awards Ceremony is taking place this Saturday 21st January from 7pm, and will be streamed live at the link below – it may be of interest to your community as it will showcase award-winning projects where communities have worked together...

The Samaritans – Longest Night – Wednesday, December 21st – Annual Awareness Campaign

The Longest Night Samaritans will mark the Winter Solstice on Wednesday, December 21st with their annual awareness campaign called the Longest Night where we highlight to people in need of our support that Samaritans are there for them during their darkest hours,...

Government announce details of 4 Cost of Living Lump Sum Supports

Government announces details of 4 cost of living lump sum supports to be paid this week total of €325 million to be paid to 865,000 people older people, working families and people with disabilities to benefit €400 Fuel Allowance lump sum payment €500 cost of living...

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