Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 October 2024
52. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the composition of regional executive management teams; if this will include a chief health and social care professional; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39369/24]
View answerHealth Regions, each led by a Regional Executive Officer (REO), are new HSE structures which now have responsibility for the planning and coordinated delivery of health and social care services for their respective populations.
Each Health Region has an Executive Management Team (EMT) led by the REO. The EMTs are critical structures for each Region. They will provide the governance and organisational arrangements to enable the planning, management, and delivery of integrated care for people and for communities across their region. Their structure must facilitate clear lines of governance, represent an appropriate span of control for the REO, and ensure that services and staff can benefit from swift and accountable decision making.
As you may be aware, the HSE CEO had made a decision based on the work conducted by a multidisciplinary group of HSE clinicians having taken feedback from REOs. It was agreed that for a three-year interim period there will be a Regional Clinical Director post and a Regional Executive Nurse Midwife post on the EMT with a view to moving to a single clinical lead post in three years’ time irrespective of profession. It was never the intention to exclude HSCPs from the process.
Notwithstanding this, concerns outlined to the HSE has required further reflection on the above. As part of the next stage of deliberation by REOs on the future state Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) arrangements, the HSE will give consideration to the HSCP leadership role in the context of regional EMTs. Further work will be required with the Chief Clinical Officer, REOs, DoH, HSCPs and staff representative bodies to consider any relevant structural adjustments at regional level to accommodate this. Any proposed executive function of such a role will need to be aligned to the Regional Clinical Director and Regional Executive Nurse Midwife roles respectively.
