MAJOR CHANGES will have to take place in the running of respite services for those with intellectual disabilities, outgoing chief executive of the HSE Professor Brendan Drumm has warned.
He said “these types of changes are not going to be easy. They never are.”
He told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health that a working group, which will report in the autumn, will examine the operation of the €1.5 billion disability respite services for people with intellectual disabilities.
His comments follow protests outside the Dáil last week by families, carers and people with intellectual disabilities about the cuts in respite services, which the Government said affected 130 people out of 5,000 receiving care.
At the meeting, the HSE also gave a commitment that its representatives would meet the Brothers of Charity about the reop-ening of the Limerick respite service.
Labour health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan had raised concerns that the HSE said it would not meet the Brothers of Charity in the midwest until they gave a commitment to reopen the centre in Limerick. She said two meetings had been cancelled.
HSE senior executive Laverne McGuinness acknowledged that the HSE had not wanted to meet the Brothers of Charity until they had given a commitment to reopen the centre.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said that she and Minister of State John Moloney had last week met the Brothers of Charity about the respite service in Limerick. She said “they have a €25 million budget in Limerick. I do not accept that within a €25 million budget that there should be an issue around respite for around €150,000”. She said they had a “very fruitful discussion”, adding: “I expect that service to be restored as quickly as possible.”
She told the committee she received a letter yesterday from the Brothers of Charity, and understood “they are engaging with the HSE in Limerick”.
In his last appearance as HSE chief executive before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, Prof Drumm said that “shortly we will be convening a working group that will in light of tightening budgets examine how these types of services are delivered and how the many services provided might be able to introduce a more streamlined process”.
The changes would not be easy and would create “many challenges” for staff and managers. “However, these types of changes are well under way in many parts of the health services and are delivering better quality services and opportunities for staff.”
He also said Ireland would not have a problem with a shortage of doctors, saying there had been a “most massive increase in intake” of medical students.
As concerns were highlighted about a shortage in non-hospital consultant doctors, Ms Harney said a new two-year visa had been agreed with the Garda National Immigration Bureau, and “junior doctors will not require a work permit to work in our system”.
