A leading medical professional says that ambitious new Government targets to cut hospital waiting times may be a quick fix and not a long term solution to the problem.
The Irish Independent reports that the scheme will see any hospitals that fail to meet the targets suffer cuts to funding.
The Health Minister Leo Varadkar will effectively fine any hospital that does not meet the goal of reducing waiting lists to 15 months by the end of this year.
Officials in the HSE and Department of Health thrashed out a new agreement in recent days to divert funding for procedures to hospitals that perform best.
Mr Varadkar is also providing an extra €25m to help incentivise hospitals to cut their waiting times.
Professor Anthony Staines from Dublin City University says that some of the issues with our health system can be solved by moving patients back into primary care where possible:
