This article is from page 16 of the 2006-05-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh said that he shares the concerns expressed by others over the provision of public and private healthcare side by side in the same hospital or siting a private hospital in close proximity to a public hospital.
At a recent health conference in Ennis, entitled ‘Who Owns Irish Healthcare,’ Bishop Walsh said, “It is obvious that there is need for serious and reasoned discussion on all aspects of our healthcare at this time. Such discussion calls for real generosity and openness of mind on the part of all who are involved in the delivery of our health services.
“The recent discussion on the health system has focused on the A&E crisis, if crisis is the appropriate word. Even to us on the outside, who don’t know the inner workings, there is increasing evidence that this is not going to be cured by money, by putting resources in at that point.
“There are deeper questions to be answered and the crisis is a result of a combination of other factors within the service,” the Bishop said.
Calling the conference a brave attempt to examine the problems bedevilling the healthcare system, Dr Walsh said, “There are serious questions to be asked: Should all major decisions be made at national level, thus negativising what is sometimes dismissed unfairly local, uninformed prejudices?
“What role should local people play in the decision-making in relation to healthcare service?
“These are questions which have significant implications. I believe that discussions like this call for a very generous and open-minded approach.”
He added, “We do live in a society where all of us tend to protect our own interests. In the long-run, one must ask does protecting one’s own interests, whether they be local or political, serve the greater good of our health service? This will scarcely serve their own long-term interests.”
Others speaking at the conference included Dr James Sheehan, the Director of the Blackrock and Galway Clinics and Prof Risteard Mulcahy, Preventative Cardiology Consultant Head of Cardiology.