THE NAMES of the majority of members of the new interim board which will run the health service following the forced resignation of Health Service Executive (HSE) board members last month have been announced by Minister for Health James Reilly.
They include senior officials from the Department of Health and the HSE, while a place has been reserved for an official from the special delivery unit which has been promised by Dr Reilly to tackle waiting lists.
Discussions are taking place with Dr Martin Connor, a former policy adviser to the North’s health department, about the possibility of him leading the unit.
Dr Reilly says the change from the HSE board structure will ensure health services are run in a more effective manner with less duplication.
On the interim executive will be the Department of Health’s secretary general Michael Scanlan; HSE chief executive Cathal Magee; the department’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan; the HSE’s national director of quality, risk and clinical care Dr Philip Crowley; and Dr Barry White, the HSE’s national director of clinical strategy and programmes.
Also on the board will be Paul Barron, assistant secretary at the department with responsibility for primary care and eligibility; Bairbre Nic Aongusa, director of the office for disability and mental health and citizen participation in the department; Laverne McGuinness, HSE national director for performance and financial management; and Brian Gilroy, HSE national director for reconfiguration.
The man who chaired the HSE board, Dr Frank Dolphin, will remain on as chairman of the new board for the present.
The intention is to have legislation in place abolishing the HSE board structure by the end of the year.
Two other vacancies, one with an interest in cutting waiting lists and one with a special interest in primary care, will be filled later.