Minister Harris Must Go As Scally Report offers A Damning Indictment Of HSE Failures – Mattie McGrath
Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, to immediately set out a pathway toward the abolition of the HSE after a litany of failures in its governance structures were identified by the Scally Report into the Cervical Cancer Screening controversy. Deputy McGrath was speaking after the Scally Report found that there was a demonstrable deficit of clear governance and reporting lines between the National Screening Service and the higher management structures of the HSE. Dr Scally went on to note that this confusion “complicated the reporting of issues and multiplied the risks”:
“I want to commend Dr Scally and his team for the exhaustive analysis they have conducted and for the blunt assessment he has provided of this whole debacle.
While there are many areas of deep concern that need to be addressed to prevent episodes like this from recurring; one of the major findings of the Report is the sheer volume of weaknesses and incompetency within the HSE management system itself.
Dr Scally has particularly noted that a key weakness in the governance structures within the HSE in relation to CervicalCheck and the National Screening Service is “how risks are identified, communicated, and managed, and in particular the processes by which serious risks can be communicated to the appropriate senior HSE management levels.”
In one sense the Report confirms what we have known for many years now; not only is the HSE organisational structure not fit for purpose, it is an active threat to the health and well-being of our citizens and it must go.
At a more senior level I believe that the whole manner in which the leaking of the Report has come about is yet another reason why this abysmal Minister for Health must go.
Simon Harris can attempt to distance himself from that disgraceful action all he likes with his feigned shock but in reality it is just the latest example of his pathetic political attempt to spin and manage a health controversy that would have seen any other Minister for Health having to vacate their office long before now,” concluded Deputy McGrath.