Patient safety is being compromised throughout the health service as a result of budget cuts in recent years, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said.

According to the organisation, there is now major concern among healthcare professionals that this situation is at a critical point.

"We are close to a point where the damage to the infrastructure of our health services will be so great that it will take decades to repair and we simply can't bequeath this crisis to the next generation. We must act now," commented IMO president, Prof Trevor Duffy.

He made his comments to coincide with the publication of the IMO's pre-Budget submission, which highlighted the fact that since 2008, €4 billion has been cut from the health budget. This has lead to staffing levels being reduced by over 12,000, 900 fewer beds in the hospital system and increased waiting lists across all specialties.

The pre-Budget submission contains five steps, which the IMO insists must be taken immediately:
-Increased funding and staffing levels in all sectors - hospital, GP and community services
-Sufficient funding to allow patients to be treated safely
-A commitment that any cost containment measure is ‘rigorously assessed' against the risk of patient safety and the long-term impact before it is started
-The introduction of free GP care ‘in a sustainable and equitable manner based on income levels and medical need with introduction of chronic disease care packages'
-Getting rid of all ‘co-payment models' such as prescription charges.

Prof Duffy insisted that every part of the health service is now ‘crying out for attention' and doctors are leaving Ireland ‘out of frustration'.

"We need to decide now if we want to be part of a society that provides a health system which can offer the people of this country the kind of world-class care that they expect, or if we are going to settle for a fractured service that is detrimental to the long-term health of our nation," he added.