• Current flu outbreak highlights vulnerability of GP and hospital services
   
• First priority of next Government must be to reverse ‘hugely damaging’ Pay and Numbers Strategy and publish a plan to rapidly increase hospital bed capacity

Thursday January 2, 2025. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has called for healthcare to be the central pillar of the Programme for Government for the incoming Government, saying that the current flu crisis highlights the need for the new Government to address capacity and resourcing issues as a matter of urgency.

Speaking today, Dr Denis McCauley, President of the IMO, said that the flu crisis highlighted how vulnerable the healthcare system is to shifts in demand. “The entire system of GP and hospital health services should not come to a crisis point because of a predictable jump in illness from something like a seasonal flu.  We are pushing our health services too hard, for too much of the year and there is no spare capacity to cope with something like a flu outbreak. 

"The practice of cancelling elective surgeries every January is simply not good enough for patients.  We must plan and fund what is required to meet the health needs of our patients and that means ensuring there are enough beds, enough doctors and enough healthcare professionals to be able to treat patients in a safe and timely manner.” 

Dr. McCauley said that the first action of the new Government in healthcare must be to reverse the Pay and Numbers Strategy, which was introduced by the Department of Health and the HSE in 2024. The IMO said this strategy was essentially the recruitment embargo in disguise and that it had set a “hugely damaging” staffing limit, with a subsequent negative effect on patient care as vital posts are not being filled.

He said that the next Government must rapidly increase workforce and bed capacity to address the needs of growing population numbers and to ease the demand on the health service. “For years we have tolerated huge numbers of patients on trolleys, work environments for doctors that are full of risk for them and their patients, too few doctors and increasing waiting lists across key specialties. This is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

He added that the next Government must also commit to a full review of how mental health services are resourced and delivered, and support General Practice with an increased focus on chronic disease management programmes and women’s health.