ISCP demands clarity on HSCP post

The ISCP is continuing to seek clarification from the Health Minister in relation to the reinstatement of a Chief Health and Social Care Professional’s Officer. The Society has been campaigning on this issue since the post was vacated in 2009 and it was a key ask in our recent pre-budget submission. We were encouraged by the recent comments made by the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly during his opening address to our Annual Conference where he confirmed that the Department will establish a Health and Social Care Profession’s role “to contribute to the delivery of reform ..including the rollout of the Advance Practice”.  The commitment  was confirmed by officials at a recent Oireachtas Health Committee and in a response to a  Parliamentary Question the stated that the role will be advertised shortly ‘with a view to having the successful applicant in place in Q1 of 2023’.

We cautiously welcome these developments and the Minister’s announcement to our conference, however we remain insistent that the post should be defined as an independent Chief HSCP Officer role with the same status as other Chief Medical and Nursing  roles within the Department. We are in correspondence with the Minister to seek further details so that you, the second largest group of health professionals, can contribute to the planning and review of health services and policies in the same way as your medical and nursing colleagues.

 We are continuing to put pressure on politicians and officials on this and other issues.

In the coming weekends our advocacy team will attend the Ard-Fheiseanna of both Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to highlight our aims to political leaders.