Press release
Minister Donnelly launches Enhanced Community Care Conference
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has today addressed the Enhanced Community Care (ECC) Conference in Dublin Castle.
The Enhanced Community Care (ECC) Programme is a strategic reform programme, aligned with Sláintecare proposals and priorities which seeks to deliver new and enhanced services in primary care and community settings, and supports the move toward a more community-centric model of healthcare.
Opening the conference this morning, Minister Donnelly said:
“The Enhanced Community Care (ECC) Programme is evidence that this government is committed to achieving one of the core goals of Sláintecare: changing Ireland’s health and social care service model to improve patient outcomes and experience, and to improve the efficiencies of service delivery by providing services in the right place, at the right time, and as close to home as possible.
“At its core the ECC is a programme of reform, and with the significant funding it has received, and will continue to receive, an additional 3,500 staff will be recruited. This will increase the overall level of healthcare provision, with service delivery re-oriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services.
“When fully embedded, we will have fully developed integrated care pathways across every acute hospital and community health area throughout the country and available to all."
The objective of the ECC is to achieve reductions in waiting lists, ED attendances, hospital admissions, acute hospital bed days used, referrals to hospital for diagnostics, and in waiting times to access services. To achieve these results, the Programme was allocated €195 million in funding this year to:
The theme of today’s conference is ‘Bringing Care Close to Home’, and provided ECC stakeholders across primary, community and acute services with the opportunity to discuss integrated care, share practical experiences of the ECC model and gain insights on how to sustain transformational change.