HSE highlights steady reform at National Integrated Healthcare Conference 2025

The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD and the HSE Chairman Ciaran Devane, today opened the HSE’s annual Integrated Healthcare conference themed "Empowering People through Transforming Care", which showcased the spectrum of change and innovation underway in our healthcare services.  The conference highlighted the steady reform of the Health Service in delivering better outcomes for patients and service users.

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, said: “This Government is fully committed to the vision of a universal health and social care service, where access is determined by need, not by ability to pay. The implementation of Sláintecare is one of the most significant reform programmes in the history of the State, supported by the largest health and social care workforce in our history and record levels of investment in our system. Since the establishment of the HSE in 2005, life expectancy in Ireland has risen from 77.8 years to 82.6 years, one of the highest in the EU. Just as importantly, Ireland is now among the top three nations in Europe for healthy life years at 65. This progress reflects sustained investment, social change and, above all, the extraordinary commitment of our health and social care workforce.”

The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, said: “Integrated care is much more than a policy ambition of Sláintecare. Integrated care is now a living framework guiding how services are joined up, how care is delivered, and how outcomes are improved for patients.  Today there are over 300 posters showing how people’s lives are being improved through the delivery of innovative services. This conference demonstrates the very best of our health service - innovation, collaboration, and determination to build a system that truly works for people and communities.”

The Minister went on to highlight that there must also be a focus on productivity, ensuring that investment delivers better access and higher-quality care for patients. Sláintecare envisages care increasingly being planned and delivered around the needs of people and communities, with GP’s, community care, hospitals and national programmes now working together as part of a single, regionally led system. These reforms are reshaping services, expanding workforce capacity, and embedding new ways of working that will strengthen our health service.

HSE Chairman Ciarán Devane, said: “This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HSE.  In that time we have seen many improvements in the health of the nation.   Life expectancy has increased, mortality rates have decreased, heart attack and stroke patients have better outcomes, cancer patients are being treated with new medicines and surgeries, our workforce is dedicated and highly skilled. Now we have the Health Regions which are integrating hospital and community care, putting patients and service users at the centre of all we do, whereas before decisions were being made too far from the patient and resources are less efficiently allocated. Integrated care means supporting people of all ages across the continuum of their lives closer to where they live, including a re-orientation towards general practice and primary care. This is at the heart of our move to a population-based approach to service planning and provision.”

The CEO of the HSE Bernard Gloster welcomed over 1,800 delegates from across Ireland, representing the breadth of the health service with staff, service users, patient advocates and policy makers gathered to acknowledge significant progress made across the last 20 years, while recognising areas of the Health Service where continued work is required to achieve fully integrated care provision.

Bernard Gloster, CEO HSE, said: “I want to acknowledge the vital contribution of all health service staff in driving transformational change and commend their leadership and commitment. I’m encouraging you to continue embracing healthcare provision with agility and flexibility, ensuring that the health service consistently delivers better outcomes while placing patients firmly at its centre.”

Best poster awards were presented by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD who delivered the closing address.

A core message to those attending the conference was that while Ireland is improving life expectant and performing well overall in delivering health services it cannot be complacent. An ageing population, growing demand, and workforce pressures are real challenges. To meet them, record levels of capital investment to modernise hospitals, expand community care, and accelerate digital transformation are being made.  While these will make care more accessible, efficient, and responsive to patient needs, the greatest impact on the health of such individuals comes from community and social initiatives.  These initiatives are typically inexpensive and therefore provide significant value for money (value-based care) and return on investment.

Keynote Speaker, global expert in healthcare integration, Dr Richard Lewanczuk, said:  “Integrated care is not just a structural reform; it is a cultural shift that ensures patients and communities are at the centre of every decision. From Canada to Ireland, the lesson is clear: when hospitals, community services, and primary care work seamlessly together, outcomes improve and systems become more sustainable. Ireland’s commitment to Sláintecare shows the courage to move from vision to reality, and I commend today’s delegates for the progress they have delivered. The challenge now is to continue pushing forward, embracing innovation and collaboration, to ensure that every patient receives the right care in the right place at the right time.”

See hsenationalconference.com/ for more information or to watch back the conference on demand.