The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has been asked to set up a forum at which financial difficulties which hospitals are experiencing can be discussed before they reach crisis point and beds start to close, writes Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
The request was made at a meeting between health service unions and the Minister yesterday afternoon. The meeting was convened at the request of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) after five major Dublin hospitals announced they would have to close 250 beds.
The meeting was described as constructive by the general secretary of the ICTU, Mr David Begg. Both sides will meet again within the next 10 days.
"There should be some way of knowing in advance if there is a developing crisis, and, indeed, one of the suggestions we put to the Minister to consider is the establishment of some permanent, consultative forum in which, if there are difficulties emerging in any of the hospitals or the health boards, that they would be obliged to notify the forum at the earliest opportunity so that we could have an input and try to get to grips with these problems before they develop into a crisis."
The meeting was also attended by representatives of SIPTU, IMPACT and the Irish Nurses Organisation. The INO's general secretary, Mr Liam Doran, said Mr Martin seemed prepared to accept there were serious problems which had to be addressed.
"A process has now been agreed which has the potential to manage the difficulties in the health service involving an explicit requirement on health employers to have full discussions with health unions before making any further public announcements."
A spokeswoman for Mr Martin said a process would now begin which would facilitate issues of difficulty being approached on a partnership basis. "The Minister will be meeting ICTU again shortly to specifically discuss a number of issues relating to the reform and restructuring of the health service," she said.
Department of Health officials, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and representatives of the five Dublin teaching hospitals - the Mater, St James's, St Vincent's, Beaumont and Tallaght - also met yesterday to discuss their funding difficulties. They will meet again next week.