It is over five years since the Sláintecare Report was published, outlining as it did a vision for the future of healthcare in Ireland. The passage of time has not diminished the widely based commitment to its underlying principles and goals. There have been setbacks along the way, not the least being Covid -19 and a serious cyber-attack on the Health Service Executive. In overcoming those system shocks, healthcare managers have demonstrated inventiveness, adaptivity and an ability to bring about rapid unprecedented change.
As we move forward with Slaintecare, we need to draw again on these competencies to change and develop our health system to meet the needs of a changing population. The demands are ever increasing and the challenges are more complex. However, public policy is highly supportive and funding has been made available to develop services, infrastructure and facilities. Making best use of the opportunities which this support presents will involve developing and nurturing synergies across all health services.
Providing the right care, in the right place nearest the service user’s home has been long standing goal. It enhances the quality of service for patients and optimises use of resources. For this reason, the integration of services is a fundamental part of the Slaintecare strategy. The aim of integration in this context, is to centre service users in a supportive web of health and social care provision which is community based and effectively aligned to acute services. We can report progress, enabled through advances in technology and better practices in line with contemporary research and understanding of better health outcomes.
Integration of diverse services working together to improve population health is not new. During our conference, we will have the opportunity to hear from the experiences of other healthcare systems who are on the same journey, to learn of their achievements and how they overcame challenges. We also look forward to hearing from those involved in the rollout of the highly successful Healthy Ireland Framework in place since 2013, a model of collaborative partnerships and working together.
Our conference aims to address these questions and perhaps prompt others. As in previous years, the conference is designed to allow delegates time and space to engage in debate and discussion with our distinguished panel and opportunities to network with their peers.
We look forward to meeting you there.
Thanks to our conference sponsor and patrons.