| CORI Justice urges Government to prioritise initiatives that play a key role in ensuring broader societal goals are met. |
In making its decisions on next week's Budget Government CORI Justice has urged Government to:
Prioritising initiatives that play a key role in ensuring broader societal goals are met According to CORI Justice an example of prioritising an initiative that plays a key role in ensuring broader societal goals are met would be funding the commitment to have 500 Primary Care teams in the health system. Primary care has been recognised as a cornerstone of the healthcare system for many years. The national agreement Towards 2016 recognises this and commits Government to engage in ongoing investment to ensure integrated, accessible services for people within their own community with a target of 300 primary care teams by 2008, 400 by 2010 and 500 by 2011. Progress towards this target has been unacceptably slow but this kind of initiative should be prioritised in the revised NDP as it is central to addressing core problems in the health system. Prioritising initiatives that would be good for the vulnerable and good for the economy According to CORI Justice an example of resourcing an initiative that would be good for the vulnerable and good for the economy would be funding the continuation of the social housing programme contained in the Towards 2016 national agreement and in the National Development Plan (NDP). Investment in social housing at this time would help address the housing waiting list which has been growing. This would be good for the vulnerable. It would also make economic sense. Given the huge slow-down in construction this is a good time to get maximum value from the resources invested in building social housing. Construction is also employment-intensive which would be welcome in a time of growing unemployment. It is crucial that Government use the limited resources at its disposal in next week’s Budget to develop services, support the economy and protect the vulnerable. Note on Primary care Primary Care has been recognised as one of the cornerstones of the health system. This was given recognition by the publication of a strategy Primary Care – A New Direction (2001). Between 90 and 95 per cent of the population are treated by the primary care system. The principle underpinning this model is a social model of health. This is in keeping with the World Health Organisation's definition of health. Universal access is needed to ensure that a social model of health as outlined in the document becomes a reality. For the development of Primary Care – A New Direction there is a clear need for the allocation of more resources. This would need an increase in the percentage of the healthcare budget being allocated for primary care. Commitments on Primary Care Teams contained in Towards 2016 are welcome and should be honoured. In particular, that document commits government to engage in ongoing investment to ensure integrated, accessible services for people within their own community with a target of 300 primary care teams by 2008, 400 by 2009 and 500 by 2011. However, progress towards this target has been unacceptably slow. CORI Justice welcomes the commitment in last October’s Budget to have 300 of these teams in place by the end of 2009. This commitment should be honoured. Failure to do so would be very short-sighted and would delay the reform that the healthcare system in Ireland so urgently needs. |