Plans aimed at shaking up the way health care is delivered at a regional level have moved a step closer. The Minister for Health, Stephen donnelly, announced that six new regional health areas (RHA's) will be rolled out on a phased basis across the country and will be operational from February 2024.
The RHA's will plan, fund, manage and deliver integrated care for people in their region as well as providing for the integration of hospital and community healthcare services. Sinn Fein's Health spokesperson David Cullinane says the RHA's alone will not solve the crisis in the health service
"Obviously there's lots of capacity issues in healthcare that need to be dealt with. Certainly reform of the health service is important. What regional health areas are intended to do is to essentially end the silos of primary and community care operating separately from our acute hospitals. What these regional health areas will do is streamline all these facets of healthcare," he added.
