• A missed opportunity to invest in our health services to meet the needs of our population
   
• Another difficult year for patients as there will be little or no improvement in capacity, services or waiting lists

 

Tuesday October 10, 2023. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said that Budget 2024 has been a missed opportunity to invest in our health services so that they are able to meet the needs of our population.

The additional core funding increase is unlikely to maintain current services, let alone meet increased demand from a rapidly growing and ageing population and increased complexities.

Our health services never recovered sufficiently from years of austerity and today’s Budget measures will mean we face the ongoing challenge of trying to deliver care to patients in a service that has insufficient capacity.

Before the Budget, the IMO warned that radical and sustainable investment was the only viable option for a health system that has been chronically under-funded and under-resourced to meet the needs of patients. It is disingenuous to talk of overspends in healthcare when we consistently fail to provide for the needs of patients.