The National Economic and Social Forum report on the health strategy has been welcomed across the political spectrum. The report, which criticises aspects of the healthcare strategy, focuses on equity in access to hospital treatment. It says the strategy fails to address the delays experienced by patients waiting for their first appointment with a consultant.
It warns that reductions in waiting times for in-patient treatment should not be achieved by lengthening the time it takes to see a consultant in the first place.
The Government, in a statement, has welcomed the report as a contribution to the ongoing debate on improving the healthcare system. It noted the number of concerns in the report.
It said the forum concluded the State must guarantee and ensure the availability of adequate healthcare to all, regardless of means. The Government responded by stating that the health strategy provided a framework for the reform of the acute hospital system and for improved access for public patients.
The Fine Gael health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell TD, welcomed the report but said she regretted it did not explore the possibility that the reward system for consultants may be at the root of the existence of waiting lists for public patients.
"The creation of common waiting lists, unless accompanied by an inbuilt incentive to treat public patients, may actually increase waiting times for all patients," she said.
The Labour Party health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus TD, said that in the light of the findings of the report, the Minister for Health should acknowledge his failure to deliver an effective system of healthcare.
"This is a valuable report that vividly illustrates the system of apartheid operating in our health service, particularly in regard to access to hospital care. It confirms many of the failures of Government health policy identified by the Labour Party. It also shows up the inadequacies of the Government's own health strategy,," Ms McManus said.
Mr John Gormley of the Green Party said the report revealed deficiencies in the National Health Strategy, which the Government must now address.
He welcomed the report's proposals that there would no longer be separate public and private waiting lists.
"Such a proposal has long been Green Party policy, yet the Government still permits a situation to continue where 20 per cent of beds in public hospitals are designated as private," he said.
Sinn Féin health spokesman, Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, said the report demonstrated the failure of Government health policy. "The NESF report states that structural change is necessary to address the two-tier public/private system in hospital care and, most significantly, it states that this system is left unchanged in the Government's health strategy."