Six new regional health areas are coming on stream as the health service is restructured.
The new RHA’s will be rolled out on a phased basis from next February through to 2025.
Carlow and Kilkenny will come under the HSE Dublin and South East area joining Tipperary South, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, and part of South Dublin.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says the RHA’s will plan, fund, manage and deliver integrated care for people in their region, and will see the integration of hospital and community healthcare services.
Sinn Fein’s Health spokesperson David Cullinane says there is a lot of work to be done and it will take time:
“Obviously there’s lots of capacity issues in healthcare that need to be dealt with, but certainly reform of the health services is important. But regional health areas are intended to do is to essentially end the silos of primary and community care operating separately from our acute hospitals. And what these regional health areas will do with streamline all of the aspects of health care.”
