Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, commenting on the publication of the Department of Health’s Productivity and Savings Plan, has said that inefficiency in healthcare has been driven by political failure to deliver reform.

He said that in the last 13 years, Simon Harris, Leo Varadkar, and Stephen Donnelly all failed to improve hospital efficiency, tackle overcrowding, or end the reliance on expensive agency staffing, management consultants, and outsourcing. He added that this is clearly demonstrated in the paper published today by the Department of Health.

The TD for Waterford called on the government to fund 3,000 hospital and community beds, end the recruitment embargo, and invest in local health services to improve efficiency and tackle overcrowding.

He said that since 2016, the average length of stay increased across the vast majority of acute hospitals and the number of discharges per bed decreased, while less than 1,000 acute beds were added to deal with the resultant overcrowding.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“In the last 13 years, Simon Harris, Leo Varadkar, and Stephen Donnelly all failed to improve hospital efficiency, tackle overcrowding, or end the reliance on expensive agency staffing, management consultants, and outsourcing.

“We need greater productivity and efficiency across the health service, but not at the cost of patient care or patient safety.

“The data shows that, under the watch of Simon Harris, Leo Varadkar, and now Stephen Donnelly, hospitals have in fact gone backwards with the length of stay increasing and discharges per bed decreasing. The government’s failure to invest in local health services has made hospitals into expensive bottlenecks.

“Reducing pressure on acute hospitals is essential to any plan to control health spending. Sinn Féin has a multi-annual plan to invest in cost-effective solutions to improve the health service, deliver more care closer to home, and tackle hospital overspending. We would fund 3,000 hospital and community beds, end the recruitment embargo, and invest in local health services.

“This government’s track record on achieving efficiencies is to cut back on health services and make the situation worse. It is under this government that the new children’s hospital became a runaway train, while spending on agency and outsourcing has gone through the roof. They also failed to put in place modern and fit for purpose IT systems that can drive productivity and reform waiting lists.

“Sláintecare, the Health Service Capacity Review, and Sinn Féin’s alternative health plans in the last decade were clear: investment is needed in primary and community services, including GPs, home care, and community rehabilitation services, to reduce pressure on acute hospitals. This never happened at the scale needed.

“It is a farce to suggest that Simon Harris and Stephen Donnelly will achieve in a few months what they failed to achieve in eight years. Fine Gael have been in government for 13 years and have only made the health service worse. We need new leadership in health and a change of government. Sinn Féin has a plan to tackle the crisis in healthcare.”