Long hospital waiting lists can be cut by adopting practices which have succeeded in other countries, the Minister for Health and Children said yesterday.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, Mr Martin said that the health system seemed to have "intractable problems" with waiting lists and emergency treatment.
"I don't buy that", he declared. "These problems are not intractable in other countries. I am asking the ERHA not just to manage, but to challenge, to look at the best models worldwide, to pilot new ways of meeting the needs, and to give us patient-centred solutions quickly."
In two to three years' time, he said, "there should be a noticeable, measurable change in the way patients experience the healthcare system in this area".
The new authority takes over from the Eastern Health Board. It comprises three area health boards which will deliver services. These are the South-Western Area Health Board, based at Leinster Mills near Naas, Co Kildare; the Northern Area Health Board, based at the Swords Business Campus; and the East Coast Area Health Board, based at Boghall Road, Bray, Co Wicklow.
In a report to the first meeting of the new authority, its chief executive, Mr Donal O'Shea, said that, of the 36,855 people on hospital waiting lists nationally, almost 53 per cent were in the ERHA region.
"Tackling the issue of waiting times and waiting lists will be a key priority for the authority for the rest of this year and subsequent years", Mr O'Shea said. "Patients and their doctors need better information from hospitals about waiting times for particular consultants and specialities."
The authority aims to establish "acceptable maximum waiting times" for treatment and to work with hospitals to achieve these goals. It also wants to establish that access to hospital services is "based on clinical need, regardless of the residence of the patient within the region".
Discussions on these issues have already begun with the major acute voluntary hospitals.
Referring to the controversy over the retention of organs by hospitals, Mr O'Shea said: "The overriding concern of the authority is to ensure that every effort is made to meet the information needs of families and that their concerns are addressed sensitively and promptly.
"To this end, it is vital that each hospital within the region puts in place a dedicated team to manage the response and follow-up support and counselling."
At yesterday's first meeting of the authority, Alderman Ivor Callely TD (FF) was elected chairman and Cllr Jim Reilly (FG) vice-chairman.
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