New medical group to campaign against health cuts

Patients, doctors and nurses have joined forces to campaign against any cuts to the health services in the forthcoming Budget.

The Irish Medical Organisation, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and three patient organisations are holding a series of regional meetings under the Patient First banner, to which patients and local politicians are invited. The last meeting next month is in Blanchardstown, in the constituency of Minister for Health Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Joan Burton.

Launching the Patient First campaign today, Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients’ Association said it aimed to “give a voice to the voiceless” using the State’s health services. “This is about putting patients first, at the heart of the healthcare system, not as disempowered users waiting for years for access.”

The main demand of the campaign is for the Budget to protect health services and patient care. The groups are also seeking a mechanism for providing patients and their families the opportunity to share their experiences of the health system and to engage with healthcare providers.

Ninety per cent of users were happy with the system, said Dr Hilary Dunne of Patient Opinion, but those with stories to tell were not being encouraged to voice their experiences. "There has been a consistent failure in the health system to learn from experiences and we need to change that."

The group is also seeking legislation to require hospitals to display staffing levels and to consult on cost improvement plans. Safe staffing should be based on patient dependence alone, it says, and a national, long-term strategy for patient involvement is needed.

The first meeting is in Limerick tomorrow with further meetings in Galway, Navan, Tallaght, Letterkenny, Cork and Blanchardstown in the coming weeks.