THE GOVERNMENT should consider the long-term effects of further cuts to the health budget on the health of the nation, the Irish Medical Organisation has said.
The organisation’s president, Prof Seán Tierney, said in Dublin yesterday that a lot of the problems facing the health service had their roots in the 1980s recession.
Prof Tierney said the “epidemic” in cardiovascular disease and the increased incidence of diabetes followed drastic cuts in health spending, particularly in relation to disease prevention and primary care, during the last recession.
Recent developments, including the introduction of the prescription charge and indications of a €1 billion budgetary cut in health spending, were examples of initiatives that targeted the ill, the elderly and those on low income, he said.
“As incomes decline, people eat cheaper and less healthy meals, drop sports activities, delay visiting their GP and are less likely to afford preventative care,” Prof Tierney added.
Practitioners were daily seeing the effects of the recession with patients delaying coming back to the doctor because of fears of cost, Dr Ronan Boland, chairman of the organisation’s GP committee, said.
Describing the decision to introduce the prescription charge as a very unfortunate and regressive step, Dr Boland said patients were already defaulting on taking prescribed medication.
The organisation’s pre-budget submission calls on the Government to reverse the prescription charge and to implement a “rational approach” to the prescription of generic drugs, which it says could save up to €300 million.
It proposes an “investment approach” to tackle healthcare issues and ring-fenced funding for the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the prevention of chronic disease and mental health.
