Regional Health Authorities to be Streamlined - Tufton

The Ministry of Health is moving to streamline the operations of the four regional health authorities across the island, which is grounded in the need to bolster service delivery at public health institutions, according to Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.

"My own view is that they have become silos [with] very little cross-coordination [including] the relationship between budgets allocated and functions performed..." said Dr Tufton as he addressed his post-sectoral press conference yesterday.

The regional authority framework is modelled off the United Kingdom's system, which was designed to guide the administration of health care at the local level.

According to Dr Tufton, procurement was another issue. "Lack of organisation around central functions like procure-ment, maintenance and so on does create some concerns out of a recognition of inefficiencies and so on."

He added, "We are of the firm view that the time has come to review how these authorities perform and function -whether this is currently the right formula and what adjustment, if any needs to be made."

The Pan American Health Organisation has presented the Ministry with a study, which will guide the restructuring and consultants have been engaged to shape a strategic plan.

The Minister was asked to outline his vision for the regional health authorities. He responded, "You want greater accountability, at the level of the region [and] greater oversight. You want greater accountability at the level of the institutions [and] the hospitals. It has implications for personnel training, reporting mechanisms [and] the authority structure."