The reconfiguration of autonomy in the Irish healthcare profession

In 2005, the Health Service Executive took over total responsibility in the running of the national healthcare system in Ireland. The Irish Government believed that the old health board system of governance and management became a myriad of confusion, inconsistency and incoherence; it failed to enforce financial accountability, to provide clear and timely decision-making, and, most of all, in its central purpose of healthcare practice, to put the patients first. Two years on, this book examines the current status of governance and management in the Irish healthcare system, on grounds of autonomy and responsibility in patient care. Theoretically, the analysis of autonomy and responsibility in healthcare is considered from three viewpoints: (1) Irish medicine – the Hippocratic Oath and its struggle for recognition; (2) Irish politics – the irony of politically- commissioned reports; and (3) the politics of neo- institutional healthcare management – the onset of a possible medical mutiny. The analysis should evoke a re-thinking of autonomy in the healthcare profession, and should be especially useful to professionals in the healthcare field.