Sláintecare – A ten-year plan to achieve universal healthcare in Ireland

Abstract

In May 2017, an Irish cross-party parliamentary committee published the 'Houses of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare "Sláintecare" report'. The report, known as 'Sláintecare', is unique and historic as it is the first time there has been a cross-party political consensus on major health reform in Ireland. Sláintecare sets out a high level policy roadmap to deliver whole system reform and universal healthcare, phased over a ten year period and costed. Sláintecare details reform proposals which, if delivered, will establish; a universal, single-tier health service where patients are treated solely on the basis of health need; the reorientation of the health system 'towards integrated primary and community care, consistent with the highest quality of patient safety in as short a time-frame as possible'. Sláintecare has five interrelated components: population health; entitlements and access to healthcare; integrated care; funding; and implementation. In this article, the authors use documents in the public domain (parliamentary reports, public hearings, submissions to the Committee, media coverage, the final report of the Committee, speeches by Committee members) to describe the policy process and the main contents of the proposed Sláintecare reforms. It is too soon tell if the political consensus in the policy formation can hold for its implementation.

Health system foundations for Sláintecare implementation in 2020 and beyond – co-producing a Sláintecare Living Implementation Framework with Evaluation: Learning from the Irish health system’s response to COVID-19. A mixed-methods study protocol

“…Health system readiness literature is relevant as it is considered critical for successful implementation of complex interventions (O'Neill et al, 2013). Many of the readiness dimensions are common to the WHO Building Blocks taking a systems' approach which informed the original Sláintecare report (Burke et al, 2018;World Health, 2013). This work will inform Sláintecare priorities in 2020 and beyond.…”

Doctor Retention in Ireland - Where Are the Failings That Prolong the Problem? Comment on "Doctor Retention: A Cross-sectional Study of How Ireland Has Been Losing the Battle"

“…In 2017, the high level Slaintecare report was published, advocating for the development of consultant delivered healthcare services to deliver care to the population of Ireland. 6 All the above reports allude to a consultant delivered model of service which was outlined in the initial Report of the National Task Force on Medical Staffing over 17 years ago, yet many of the issues fundamental to this have not been addressed. Some indices have substantially deteriorated; for example the over-reliance of the Irish healthcare system on non-training NCHDs has deteriorated, combined with a lack of compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Code of Practice related to ethical recruitment in healthcare and doctor migration.…”

The Management and Administrative Practices Resulting in the Exit of Nurses from the Irish Healthcare System – a Review

“…It is primarily tax-financed and around 43% of the population has private health insurance . The Irish health service has recently come through a radical reform program called 'Sláintecare' and is going through bedding down the process (Burke et al, 2018). 'Sláintecare' is a ten-year plan, proposed in May 2017, for healthcare delivery in Ireland with various reforms agreed upon by all political sectors.…”