merrion street

Health Minister James Reilly has today published the Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012. The legislation, which was approved by Cabinet yesterday, will pave the way for major changes in the design of our health services.

The Bill will:

• abolish the Board structure of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and provide for a Directorate to be the new governing body for the HSE in place of the Board, headed by a Director General;
•  provide for further accountability arrangements for the HSE;
•  provide for related matters including a number of technical amendments to take account of the replacement of the Board structure by the Directorate structure.

The legal status of the HSE under the Health Act 2004 does not change under the Bill and HSE employees will remain the employees of the HSE.

In line with health reform policy, the Bill is intended to:

• make the HSE more directly accountable to the Minister for  Health, who in turn is accountable to the people through the Oireachtas; and
• help prepare the service delivery for the  next phase of the  health reform programme.

The  HSE  has  responsibility  for  the organisation and delivery of health services  and  the  Directorate will be accountable to the Minister for the performance of HSE functions – it will have to explain its decisions.

The Bill allows the Minister to issue directions to the HSE on the implementation of Ministerial and Government policies and objectives relating to HSE functions where the Minister believes that the HSE is not having sufficient regard to such objectives or policies in performing its functions.

The Minister said:

For too long the treatment of patients in our health services has had to conform to the needs of the system. This new Directorate structure in the HSE will allow us to redesign the system to put the needs of the patient front and centre.

Minister Reilly spoke to MerrionStreet.ie earlier this morning: