New hospital groupings unveiled



Counties Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, are to be grouped along with Roscommon, Mayo and Galway to form one of the new HSE’s six service regions.

The announcement has been made by the Health Minister Simon Harris who says the HSE was never fit for purpose.

Under plans announced by the Government, health and social care will in future be planned and delivered in six health regions across the country.

Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal will be put together with Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in what is being called Area F.

The hospitals under this grouping will include Sligo, Letterkenny, Galway, Roscommon, Mayo and Portiuncula University Hospitals and has a population of around 710,000 people.

The Health Minister Simon Harris says the new regional authorities will have devolved budgets and produce their own workforce plans to deal with specific needs in their areas.

He insisted the new structures would remove layers of managers in the health service rather than adding to them.

The design process is expected to take up much of next year, with the new regional structures expected to come into operation in 2021.

Member of the Regional Health Forum and Sligo Drumcliffe Fianna Fail councillor Donal Gilroy, says he has a number of concerns about the new structure.



Related