From Tuesday, 1 October 2024, the Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Regions management structure replaces the existing Community Healthcare Organisation and Hospital Group structures for four out of the six new Irish health regions. The regions are part of the implementation of Sláintecare, designed to integrate care for patients, provide a population-based approach to service planning, and put corporate and clinical accountability structures in place. They replace the existing structures and will be fully established by 3 March 2025. HSE Mid-West will move to an interim structure in October/November 2024, while in the HSE South West, all existing arrangements will stay the same until March 2025.
Each region is responsible for providing both hospital and community care for the people in that area. The HSE is still a single organization, with six health regions, which remain under the governance of the HSE Board and the HSE continues to be responsible for standards and guidelines.
Services working together within each region include:
- hospitals
- primary care services – like pharmacies and doctors’ surgeries
- community services
- social care services
- public and private providers
- health and social care professionals
- voluntary sector services
This means that patients can be cared for closer to home, whatever their health needs.
These regions will:
- plan and deliver our services around the specific needs of people in each area
- improve how these services are run and how people take responsibility for them
- strengthen local decision-making by giving regions the power to plan, manage and deliver their own care
- provide a consistent quality of care across the country, with the HSE Centre being responsible for ensuring standards across the regions
Each region has its own budget, leadership team, and responsibility for local decision-making. Each health region is led by a Regional Executive Officer (REO). The REO is accountable and responsible for regional health and social care services. The six REOs report directly to the HSE Chief Executive Officer.
The 6 health regions cover the following areas:
- HSE Dublin and North East: North Dublin, Meath, Louth, Cavan, and Monaghan
- HSE Dublin and Midlands: Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kildare, and parts of Dublin South and Wicklow
- HSE Dublin and South East: Tipperary South, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow, part of South Dublin
- HSE Mid West: Limerick, Tipperary and Clare
- HSE South West: Kerry and Cork
- HSE West and North West: Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway