Budget 2022 must “mark the start of an era of substantial and ongoing funding for the health services”, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said.

Launching its pre-Budget submission, the IMO insisted that health services must be built up to ensure that they are never again as vulnerable as they have been throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

IMO president, Dr Ina Kelly, pointed out that while services have received significant financial support during the pandemic, the need for this support was largely due to decades of underinvestment and major challenges remain.

“The fragility of our health services was exposed during the pandemic and had it not been for the exceptional efforts of doctors and other professionals across the country, and huge temporary financial support, the services may have collapsed entirely.

“As it is, the services have been severely weakened and patients are being forced on to ever-lengthening waiting lists,” she commented.

Dr Kelly said that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of ongoing investment in health.

The IMO has identified seven key areas that need to be targeted in Budget 2022, including; investment in medical manpower; investment in acute bed capacity and diagnostic infrastructure; investment in general practice and investment in mental health services.

As part of the investment in medical manpower, the IMO has again called for the immediate reversal of the “discriminatory and universal 30% pay cut” imposed on new consultants working in the HSE since 2012.

Meanwhile, in relation to acute bed capacity, the IMO has called for a multi-annual programme of investment, which would lead to 5,000 additional public acute beds and a doubling of critical care capacity to 550 critical care beds.

Budget 2022 will be announced on October 12.