Medical cards for all not practical, says Martin

The Minister for Health today said it may not be practical to extend the free medical card scheme to all citizens.

Minister for Health, Mr Micheál Martin

Outlining his proposed healthcare strategy for the next seven years at the IMPACT union annual conference in Ennis, Co Clare, Mr Martin said such a scheme would cost over £800 million per annum.

But IMPACT national secretary Mr Kevin Callinan asked the Minister to expand the medical card scheme to all citizens, saying it would form the key to an improved health service.

"It is not too ambitious to improve services so that the medical card becomes, not a passport to a hospital queue, but a kite mark of quality health care," he said.

Mr Martin said in his address the greatest challenge to the provision of care was the chronic staff shortage in the system.

"Unless we are in a position to produce the necessary number of graduates from our training colleges, our plans to enhance service delivery cannot be optimised."

The health service power structures were also criticised by the union, with Mr Callinan claiming the demand for an end to"two-tier services could easily become a cliché, parroted by all and sundry".

There should be greater accountability in the health service with patients and frontline staff having more input, he said.

"It means addressing the current power relationships and replacing them with transparent and truly democratic structures."

Mr Martin acknowledged that there was a "need for a more integrated approach to both policy formulation and implementation".

The Department of Health's investment in services has risen from £2.5 billion in 1997 to £5 billion this year, said the Minister.

Yesterday, the vice-president of the State's largest union, SIPTU, Mr Jack O'Connor said the health service was suffering from 10 years of underfunding and that trade unionists should support the Minister for Health in the face of "free marketeers".

On the first day of IMPACT's conference, the union's general secretary, Mr Peter McLoone warned of growing unease among its membership over social partnership.