Michael McHale , 2025-07-11 10:30:00
Corporate plan points to digital health and new HSE regions as ‘time for opportunity’ to make essential improvements in key services
Increasing productivity in acute outpatient services and reducing unnecessary diagnostics are among the objectives outlined in the HSE’s new corporate plan for the next three years.
As part of a commitment that the public will experience ‘high quality, safe and coordinated care’ the document also outlines plans to ‘increase access to care by providing more services with longer operating hours on a seven-day-a-week basis’.
It also prioritises the rollout of digital health tools such as electronic health records and the bolstering of the HSE app to allow patients to manage their own personal health information, care coordination and access to services.
The plan references international evidence showing that up to 30 per cent of healthcare services provided are not appropriate for the conditions being treated.
“Examples include unnecessary or duplicate diagnostic testing and inappropriate medication management,” the document said
“This is not in the best interest of patients/service users and can result in an inefficient use of resources.”
Under the theme of ‘delivering value’, the HSE said it will implement clinical pathways and models of care that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services in areas such as cancer, trauma, older persons, dementia, mental health, disability and paediatrics.
There are also plans to localise more services, including the rollout of fully operational community healthcare networks, and increasing the amount of care delivered in locally.
Launching the 2025-2027 Corporate Plan yesterday, the HSE said that regional plans will provide detail on how key objectives will be met, while activity will be funded through its annual budget cycles.
“The establishment of health regions heralds a time of opportunity, to fully embrace integrated care, champion effective decision-making, and promote a strong local focus with the patient at the centre,” said Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
“I very much welcome the commitment in the HSE Corporate Plan 2025-2027 to creating supportive environments for people to live healthier lives for longer and the strong focus on workforce strengthening and digital transformation.
“Its focus on increased access to services and improved efficiency and productivity, including through the provision of more services with longer operating hours on a seven day a week basis, will help to bring us closer to our vision of providing everyone in Ireland with high quality, safe, coordinated care where and when it is needed.”
As part of plans to increase capacity, the document outlines the HSE’s intentions to grow the number of acute, critical care and community beds, open more local injury units, add six surgical hubs and open the new National Children’s Hospital.
The HSE also states its plans to ‘continue the development’ of elective care hospitals in Dublin Cork and Galway. This suggests a lack of confidence that the hospitals will be up and running within the next three years, despite the facilities being first promised in 2021.
To better understand future capacity requirements, the HSE will complete a health service capacity review in conjunction with the Department of Health.
The organisation will also update the disability capacity review with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, to deliver an overall assessment of future disability service capacity requirements.
“While the timeline of the Plan is for three years, our aspirations are grounded in a longer term commitment to supporting children and adults with disabilities,” said Disability Minister Norma Foley.
“The best outcomes for people are achieved when all services work together in a coordinated and integrated way. This integrated approach underpins every commitment in the Plan and seeks to improve and enhance supports and services for children and adults with disabilities at every stage of life.”
The Corporate Plan claims that public access to public hospitals can be increased ‘through maximising the vale of the public only consultant contract’.
It also states an ambition to reduce waiting times for urgent and elective care. The publication points to recent figures showing an increase of eight per cent in the number of people presenting to an emergency department.
Just under 90,000 people are waiting more than one year for an outpatient appointment, while age, ethnicity or socio-economic status can pose additional challenges to accessing care, the document said.
“Additional supports will be targeted to these individuals to ensure they have equitable access to health and social care,” it added.
“Access to safe, compassionate and quality care should be available for people when and where they need it,” said HSE Board chair Ciarán Devane.
“The new plan serves as a roadmap towards this priority, through collective action and delivery through the recently established health regions.
“The plan is also intended to set the foundation for a more resilient, modernised and responsive health and social care system for the future. The digitisation of the health services, under the programme for government, is currently underway and forms a core part of the HSE’s Corporate Plan.
“Digital Health is key to transforming the delivery of integrated health and social care services, improving health outcomes for all our population and the experience for our patients and service users.”
He added: “The plan reiterates the HSE’s commitment to being active partners with patients and service users, voluntary organisations, our staff and government colleagues. Together, we will work to ensure excellent service delivery and a person-centred experience for all.”