The government’s response to the problems in emergency departments is well-rehearsed and utterly ineffective. The steps needed to ease the pressure are obvious. To do anything less is to turn overcrowding into official policy
The narrative that Ireland is an excessively high spender on health should be challenged
There is huge frustration in government that funds spent on health do not readily translate into positive, measurable impact, unlike voter-friendly tax cuts
Freed from fighting fires over operational matters, those in charge could take the time to step back and look at the big picture – to the benefit of us all
Not only does the government fail to let the health service plan ahead or budget for vital services, it cynically lets the HSE take the blame for any shortfalls
The first step to a better service is ending the brain drain that results in hundreds of gifted doctors leaving for higher-paid jobs elsewhere
Under-pressure GPs have become soft targets for venture capitalists who offer to take the ownership burden off their shoulders in the interest of profit
After eight years of governance vandalism, the new HSE board urgently needs to call a halt to Fine Gael’s merry dance
A tendency to defer to the Catholic Church held back our social progress in the past. We must be alert to the danger of putting figures in authority, such as developers, bankers or the PAC, on a pedestal now
The Waterford mortuary saga shows the chronic shortage of capital funding for the health service
We all need to be concerned about the state of the health service, even if we have Rolls-Royce health insurance ourselves
The HSE is on a merry-go-round of budgetary despair, and only politicians can stop it
The industrial action by nurses in our health service has already become ‘a threat to life and limb’. And it’s set to escalate this week. So what can be done?
Prioritising one patient group - perhaps because of the power of their advocacy - means another group will lose out, even if their case for funding is much stronger
Ambiguity and confusion about who is responsible for what means a lack of accountability that is making the health service sick
