HSE ‘Inherently Flawed’ Admit Health Managers

The organisation representing managers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) has admitted many patients are not receiving the best of care.

The Health Management Institute (HMI) was commenting in the wake of scathing criticism of senior management in the HSE during the Portlaoise Hospital scandal.

In a statement it said: “A system that is inherently flawed, no matter how competent the clinicians and managers are, or how hard they work, will experience more tragedies.

“Managers feel uncomfortable managing in a system that is not organised to deliver best outcomes for patients, and advocate that their primary focus must become that of changing the system in the interest of the patient.”

But they claimed that if a report from 40 years ago, which called for the reorganisaiton of health services, had been implemented, the chances of the cancer misdiagnoses happening would have been minimised.

The statement from the HMI continued:

“Early warning systems are not available and we have to rely on individuals working in the system, aware of or suspecting poor performance, to come forward and make disclosures.

“Services are not yet organised to deliver best outcomes for patients.

“For example, triple assessment for patients with symptomatic breast disease was not offered at Portlaoise.”