Earlier this week Fórsa and UNISON co-hosted a conference examining The State of Healthcare on the Island of Ireland. Supported by the Shared Island Unit of the Department of the Taoiseach, the event saw experts from both North and South of the border discuss the often-common issues facing both services, and the opportunities presented by North-South cooperation for building services for members, communities, and the public.

Delegates were jointly welcomed by Clodagh Kavanagh, chair of Fórsa’s Health and Welfare Division, and Deborah Yapicioz, joint chair of UNISON’s Health Service Group, where they emphasised the importance of cross border collaboration and the looming dangers of privatisation. Professor Sir Michael Marmot then spoke in detail about the politics of healthcare.

Joint chairpersons Patricia McKeown, Regional Secretary for UNISON NI, and Kevin Callinan, Fórsa General Secretary opened day two. Patricia’s remarks included dire warnings against privatisation as well as an entreaty that “We should not be making profit on people's lives, people's wellbeing, and people's health."

Kevin Callinan focussed on the necessity for workers’ voices to be heard if we are to create the best healthcare system we possibly can, saying “The voices of ordinary people working in the health service are not heard enough and it certainly isn't valued enough.”

Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media also addressed the opening session. He underlined how critical our medical workforce are critical to the successful delivery of healthcare, as well as the need for “better collaboration across this island on health care provision”.

Fórsa’s Head of Health and Welfare Ashley Connolly joined fellow panellists Paul MacFlynn, NERI, John-Patrick Clayton, UNISON NI Policy Officer, and Professor Kathleen Lynch, Professor Emeritus UCD, to look more closely at the privatisation of public health services.

During her address, Ashley questioned the language often used when discussing healthcare.

“We must challenge the language that is often used. For example, ‘efficiencies’ - what does that really mean? Is it focused on reducing costs and perceived value for money? But what if efficiency was about meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged people?” she said.

The afternoon saw spirited contributions from delegates as they explored the topic of healthcare as a democracy. National Secretary Linda Kelly was joined by Professor Lourda Geoghegan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer in NI, Liam Woods, Director of Shared Services HSE, Patricia McKeown, Regional Secretary for UNISON NI, and Evan Bates of The Royal Hospitals Group, where the need for consultation and collaboration were at the crux of the debate.

In her address Linda summed up the heart of the discussion.  “Your voice must be heard, your experience must be valued, your ideas must be implemented. Only then can we say we have achieved healthcare as democracy,” she said.

The conference ended with a workshop where delegates from both unions delved into what they wanted to see happen in healthcare across the island, and how best to ensure those outcomes through collective action with, and between, the unions.

The State of Healthcare on the Island of Ireland conference represented the first step of a renewed focus on cooperation between Fórsa and UNISON, a relationship which began before the good Friday agreement.

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