HSE Publishes National Service Plan 2024
Introduction
The HSE has published their National Service Plan for 2024. The National Service Plan emphasises the commitment to improve health services across Ireland with a budget of €23.5 billion.
The key aims of the service plan are:
- Improving access to urgent and emergency care,
- Prioritising waiting lists,
- Enhancing mental health and disability services, and
- Building on existing partnerships to develop and improve services.
The plan also highlights the establishment of six new HSE Health Regions to deliver integrated care more efficiently. Efforts will be directed towards optimising service productivity to meet the complex needs of a growing and aging population, leveraging digital health technologies, and ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery through partnerships and collaboration.
Summary of Focus Areas for 2024
Urgent and Emergency Care
In the HSE National Service Plan for 2024, improving access to urgent and emergency care (UEC) is highlighted as a critical priority. The plan acknowledges that urgent and emergency care services are increasingly under pressure due to higher patient numbers, requiring the HSE to develop a multiannual Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2024-2026 as part of a new UEC Programme. This programme focuses on enhancing access to UEC by implementing the first-year commitments related to hospital avoidance, emergency operations, in-hospital operations, and discharge operations.
Mental Health
One of the priority areas within the HSE National Service Plan for 2024 is the enhancement of mental health services, focusing on early intervention, reducing waiting lists, and improving access to person-cantered care. The plan outlines strategies to enhance early interventions for adult mental health services, prioritising child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and developing clinical and service improvement programs for children and young people.
Children’s Health
For children’s health, the plan focuses on prevention and early intervention to improve health and wellbeing. This includes access to mental health services, services for children with disabilities, and the work of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) and acute hospitals nationally. Work will continue with CHI and acute hospitals across the Health Regions to configure clinical networks within existing resources to bring care closer to home for children and families.
Older Persons’ Services
The National Service Plan emphasises the need to support older persons to live independently at home for as long as possible. This includes providing a wide range of core services for older persons, such as home support, day care, and community-based supports, in partnership with voluntary groups. Community bed-based rehabilitation for older people will also be provided to support them in maximizing their independence.
Palliative Care
Palliative care is another priority, with the plan aiming to improve the quality of life for patients and their families facing life-limiting illnesses. The HSE aims to achieve this through early identification, high-quality multidisciplinary assessment, and treatment of pain and other problems. The plan outlines strategies to enhance the provision of palliative care, particularly for children, and to ensure equal access to palliative care services for people with life-limiting conditions.
Disability Services
The plan outlines a focus on improving access and service capacity for individuals with disabilities across their lifespan. It prioritises day, respite, multidisciplinary residential, home support, neuro-rehabilitation, and personal assistant services, aiming to enhance the quality and reach of these services. The plan emphasises the collaboration between the HSE, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (DCEDIY), service providers, families, and stakeholders to develop and improve services, particularly for children. Addressing deficits in services provided in Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) is a highlighted as a critical task for the HSE, as they recognise the very significant positive impact that early intervention can have on the outcomes for children and their families.
Social Inclusion
The plan recognises the importance of addressing health inequalities and improving access to health services for vulnerable and excluded groups. This involves developing social inclusion health services, increasing access to drug and alcohol services, and enhancing adolescent addiction services. There is also a focus on integrated care pathways and harm-reduction responses, including the establishment of medically supervised injecting facilities and addiction facilities for homeless individuals.
To view further information and a copy of the HSE National Service Plan click here.
If your health or social care services requires quality, safety or regulatory compliance support then contact HCI at +353 (0)1 6292559 or info@hci.care to find out how we can help you.