Radical reform of health service will secure Portiuncula Hospital

Fine Gael"s plans for the reform of the health service will secure the long term future of local services at hospitals like Portiuncula, Deputy Denis Naughten has stated. Deputy Naughten said: 'At the core of the Fine Gael reform strategy is the fact that local hospitals, like Portiuncula, would not only retain existing medical services but also see new investment to improve the level of treatment provided. 'The principle behind the Fine Gael plan is that the money follows the patient so the more patients are treated in Portiuncula Hospital, the more funding it will receive. 'This is a big shift away from the current policy where local hospital management has to go with a begging bowl to try to get funding to maintain existing services, never mind provide new and enhanced services locally.' Deputy Naughten continued: 'The Fine Gael Fair Care Policy will deliver a health system that is concerned solely with people"s medical needs and not with the money in their pocket. We have devised a plan based on best practice in the Netherlands and Canada, which will eliminate trolleys in A&E, slash waiting lists and end the current health divide that denies fair treatment to the less well-off in our society. 'Our goal is clear: to give Ireland a world-class health service where everyone is treated fairly, regardless of income, and where the patient is central to that service.   'Fine Gael will make sure that the people of Ireland get the health service that they pay for and deserve.' A working group has also been established to look into the operations of smaller hospitals.