A promise by Fianna Fáil to introduce a national preventative health screening programme is "not worth the paper it is written on", Fine Gael claimed today.
Following Fianna Fáil's announcement of its policies for the health service if returned to government, Fine Gael said the party had been in power for 10 years and "we still do not have a nationwide breast or cervical screening programme".
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Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey says Fianna Fail's promises are "not worth the paper they're written on". Image: Alan Betson. |
A litany of announcements and promises on health screening from the current Government had come to nothing, said Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey.
"If Fianna Fáil were truly committed to improving primary care services they would have adopted Fine Gael policy two years ago when I published our National Health Screening Programme, Future Health," Dr Twomey said.
"We have had a litany of announcements and promises that have come to nothing and this is just another.
"Their lack of credibility on this issue means Fianna Fáil's promise to introduce a national preventative health screening programme is not worth the paper it is written on."
Dr Twomey said Fine Gael's ethos was that "prevention is better than cure".
"Two years ago we published our comprehensive National Health Screening Programme, which would allow all adults to have a free regular preventative health check at their local GP surgery," he said.
"This programme will test for cancers, including breast, cervical, prostate, colorectal and bowel cancer. In addition, the programme will test for blood pressure, osteoporosis, cholesterol, and diabetes. All these tests can be carried out in the GP surgery."
Dr Twomey said his party was committed to "delivering primary care that works".
"Preventative screening detects illnesses or diseases at an early stage, so that they can be controlled and cured at an earlier stage. This results in a better quality of life for the patients and reduced costs to the health service."
Minister for Children Brian Lenihan today said Fianna Fáil would introduce a free, personal health check programme within five years for "people at certain stages in the life cycle".
The party also promised to establish 20 local injury clinics, also over a five-year period, to take the pressure off A&E units throughout the country.
Labour and Fine Gael have proposed to set up around 15 such urgent care clinics with the same objective.