Health Service Recovery must be Number 1 on Next Government’s Agenda – Madeline Spiers, Seanad Candidate
Former INMO President, Ms Madeline Spiers, commenting on a UCD study of Missed Care in Community Services in Ireland, has called on any incoming government to prioritise investment in primary healthcare. The report, published by the INMO yesterday, was compiled from research conducted among community nurses throughout the country. It indicates limited access to comprehensive care for the majority of the population and a service which is barely coping to meet its statutory function with little scope to address the comprehensive health needs of the population.
Ms Spiers, following an internal election process of INMO branches, was selected by secret ballot of the Executive Council for nomination in the forthcoming Seanad elections, through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for a seat on the Labour Panel.
Ms Spiers said that while most political parties talk about the need to prioritise primary healthcare services, she has yet to hear any of them go beyond clichés or generalisations in terms of how such a comprehensive service would look or be delivered. She said the facts revealed from the evidence that only 5% of the nursing workforce in Ireland are engaged in community health services as against 15% in Canada or 14.5% in the UK. This fact alone shows the long road which Ireland has ahead before it can even contemplate providing a comprehensive healthcare service for the population.
Ms Spiers is the only female candidate nominated by the ICTU for a seat in Seanad Eireann. She has pledged to be an independent voice for public health services and workers’ rights, if elected to the Seanad and said her ability to do that is re-enforced by the considerable research conducted on the INMO’s behalf in relation to the needs of our community in terms of a public health service.
Claire Mahon, INMO President, Dr Amanda Phelan, UCD and Madeline Spiers
at the INMO launch of UCD Report on Missed Care in the Community
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