She was shocked at just how unfair and inequitable the Irish health system was and was taken aback by the stark two-tiered system. Over half the population of Ireland pay for private health insurance because they know that should they need to see a consultant or have scheduled surgery they will languish on waiting lists if they stay as public patients.
She has published a number of papers from this research. Now in , on the 25th anniversary of the death of Noel Browne, Angela will discuss an imagined world where his scheme had been successful and explore the potential health system we could have had.
He died in Connemara on the 21st May His earliest memories of witnessing the savagery of the Irish Civil war ensured his abhorrence of violence. Both parents, Joseph and Mary Therese died of tuberculosis TB and many of his seven siblings contracted the killer disease, Noel who also had TB was one of three to survive, while his sisters Annie, Eileen, Una and Jody, his brother all eventually succumbed.
Official figures show that from to , , Irish people died of the disease. Scarcely an Irish family remained untouched and many families were completely wiped out. To the surprise of many he was appointed Minister for Health on his first day in the Irish parliament.
Dr Noel Browne to his everlasting credit ensured the treatment of TB was fully implemented. He also acknowledged that his authority for the Mother and Child Scheme arose from that Health Act of He commenced a massive hospital construction project, free X-ray screening for tuberculosis patients and set in motion systems to eliminate tuberculosis with the aid of Streptomycin.
