Introduction
The objective of this project shall identify the extent to which the principle of equity underpins government strategy in contemporary Irish health policy. In order to examine this principle, the essay will focus on the health services for older people. Such services are an important topic to address in modern day Irish society because the population of those aged over 65 is set to increase considerably which will cause particular economic and social implications for healthcare services in the future. Initially the paper shall provide a foundation of historical developments that have emerged within the Irish Healthcare system and highlight social policy implementations that have occurred. Following this, the paper will go on to discuss 'equity' with emphasis placed on the importance of effective policy measures to safeguard the equity and fair treatment of the elderly within the Irish healthcare system. Inference shall be made to the medical card scheme, hospital bed waiting lists, services for elderly people and the equity issues involving public and private healthcare. It shall also examine government policy papers in terms of how the two-tiered health system shows evidence of inequality that goes against the code of equity sought out by the `Quality and Fairness' (2001) report. Finally this essay will finish with a conclusion of the overall discussion.
Historical Developments
Until the middle of the ninetieth century, no state income maintenance system existed in Ireland. However under Brehon Law, local rulers provided hospitaller facilities for the sick and homeless (Quin, 1999). There was a tradition instilled that supported age specific care for elderly people in Ireland. However the care of older people change...
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... the elderly of Irish society it is also evident that there are issues over medical cards, problems with waiting lists, private consultations fees and shortages of beds as well as a general deterioration of quality of services on offer at care home facilities. Problems in the healthcare system provide incentives that favour the treatment of private patients over public patients. Such differences have effectively consolidated the two-tiered system. Recommendations to eliminate health care inequalities would be to introduce the government's proposal of the universal social health insurance scheme. For this to be achieved citizen engagement is important to abolish the current range of inequalities embedded in the Irish Healthcare system. The principle of equity could then potentially be enhanced and thus create a more equal society not based on money but based on need.
“Health is the state of complete physical, mental, social and intellectual well-beings not merely an absence of disease”(WHO,1998).Good health is essential in life as people’s career will be affected if they fall ill.. In the developed countries like Australia, People who are not involved in the healthy lifestyle are suffering from a range of health disorders like overweight, high blood pressure, obese, heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney problems, liver disorders and so many. To overcome these health issues Australian government introduced health care system. This essay will firstly, discuss the Australian health care system and secondly, compare Australia with other countries around the world in relation to different consideration on health.
From the 1820s to the 1840s, around 90 percent of migrants to the United States originated from Ireland, Britain, or Germany. Among these newcomers, the Irish were by a wide margin the biggest. In the 1820s, about 60,000 Irish settlers moved to the United States. In the 1830s, the number developed to 235,000, and in the 1840s, because of a potato starvation in Ireland, the quantity of settlers soared to 845,000. The Incomparable Irish Starvation, as it ended up plainly known, came about because of a five-year scourge that turned potato crops dark. In the vicinity of 1845 and 1850, one million Irish kicked the bucket of starvation and another two million fled the nation.
As the government’s role in public health continues major changes have been put into effect specifically dealing with long-term care. Before the 1930’s providing care for the elder was solely a local and state effort. However, after the great depression a growing demand was placed on providing some type of insurance for the elderly. The Social Security Act of 1935 was established to assist with “Federal old-age benefits” and was signed into effect by President Roosevelt on August 15, 1935. (Home) Another major contribution to long-term care has been the creation of Medicaid. This went into effect in 1965 and was an amendment...
Another focus for change is that over the years the demand for home and community care over hospital care has continued to grow, as stated by the Queens nursing institute “Recent health policy points to the importance of improving and extending services to meet the health and care needs of an increasingly older population and provide services which may have previously been provided in hospital within community settings”.
Elderly people, as a whole, use up much of the nation's healthcare budget; six times as much money is spent by the federal government on health services for those over 65 than those under 18 (Callahan, 1997). More people are entering into this age group than are dying due to medical advances that can now prolong life for years, using up hundreds of thousands of dollars on one feeble life that could possibly help hundreds of younger people and thereby prevent future health expenses (Caplan, 1987). America's healthcare budget is not large enough to support every patient adequately- instead of a few getting sufficient healthcare, many are merely getting a half-way supported (Callahan, 1997). With so many last- ditch efforts available, th...
Healthcare plays an important role in almost every person’s life at one point or another. Many times, one can get caught without, or underinsured and it can be detrimental to their livelihood. With the rising cost of healthcare, it is likely that having a national healthcare policy in place, and as an individual, being able to afford and obtain adequate health insurance has not been required until now. With the new national healthcare plan, it is required for all citizens to obtain and maintain some sort of public or private insurance policy. The rising costs can be attributed to many things. A significant reason for the astronomical cost of health care is because of the staggering amount of uninsured or underinsured individuals receiving medical attention and almost many never paying the bill. Those who do have insurance have seen a gradual increase in their premiums and deductibles to make up for this.
Tonks, A. (1994). ‘Community Care: The First Year: Community care in Northern Ireland: a promising start’. British Medical Journal. 308 (1). Pages: 839.
I emphasize the “doctor and patient” example because it is a common issue I frequently read, happening in those Countries that do not offer free access to cares. Italy grants open access to medical care, both Emergency and General Practitioner and of course we are lucky. In the contrary, it is a source of public debate because of its huge costs in the National expense balance. To cut straight to the point, there are endless polemics about the definition of “basic cares”, so that this diatribe obfuscates essential ethics. Again, Kant's theories start to help us, since humankind is not a mean, and money is not an universal end. I know the Italian reality and our system ought to focus on its organization, rather than the reduction of its care assistance. Evidence of this is the following organizational chart of the Italian health care system; it looks complex, do you agree? To the other side, even if there are some things to fix, it demonstrates that it can be achieved (cit. Commonwealth
With the creation of Medicare in 1966 in order to expand access for the elderly to the American healthcare system, the ways in which medicine and its corresponding industries were conducted were irrevocably changed. Prior to its inception, only 65% of people over 65 actually had proper health insurance, as the elderly paid three times as much for healthcare as young people (Stevens, 1998). The private medical sector had much more control over who they would treat, how much they would charge, and more; the passing of Medicare freed up the elderly to have reasonable access to healthcare as a consequence of a lifetime of paying into the system.
Social workers deal with a wide scope of marginalised groups with elderly as a commonly-discussed group. Elderly receive an adequate amount of care and concern in Asian countries such as Singapore largely due to the belief of filial piety. As a result, issues such as accessibility to elderly-friendly facilities and affordability of healthcare are frequently brought up and policies are reviewed and edited multiple times in order to best suit their needs. Despite the attention that is shown to the elderly, we often overlook the needs of their caregivers- who are in fact elderly themselves. These caregivers who are ageing along with their care recipients include children taking care of their parents, spouse taking care of another spouse and parents taking care of their bed-ridden children. The stressful situations that the elderly care provider faced due to their old age are rarely highlighted even though they may be complex and beyond their ability to handle. Hence, this essay aims to analyse the reason as to why social workers
As a result, the famine is an event still discussed and debated today; influencing Irish politics and its position within the British Isles. Questions about morality and blame have led to historians to attempt to critique British and Irish response during the famine, whilst cataloging the short term and long-term consequences. Although most blame is primarily placed on the regional and national governments response to the famine crisis, the actions of the State do not provide an adequate analysis of early nineteenth century social structures which would shape Ireland both economically, socially and politically in the years before the famine. The establishment of the Union in 1801 led to a free market system and s...
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.
In the current state of health care delivery, the three issues that challenge health care are rising health care costs, existing health care disparities and insufficient services for the growing number of elderly people. There is a contradiction between the mission of health care and its delivery system. The mission of health care is to help people, but it is delivered to society as a business. This creates a disadvantage for patients of low socioeconomic status. I have been a witness to those patients that lack access to primary care in their community, and I have helped navigate their care and lower their medical bills. I am also currently involved in implementing long term services and supports for the growing elderly population. Of the
Foster, R.F.,ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York, 1989.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.