New chairperson lays down the law at health forum

A determination to run meetings more efficiently was outlined to members of Regional Health Forum West and North West last week.

The recently-appointed chairperson Cllr Michael Crowe opened proceedings by reminding members of housekeeping rules around speaking times and the submission of health queries, stressing there was no need for meetings that usually start at 2pm to run as late as they do.

In an attempt to put his own stamp on proceedings following his election as chairperson last June, the Galway-based Fianna Fáil councillor told members he wanted to be clear “on how these meetings are to be run and not run". Cllr Crowe said he was not going to allow members to raise their questions early in the meeting: "I appreciate why there might be legitimate reasons for asking, but there are too many requests for it and I have to be fair to everybody. There are almost 30 members here and to be fair, we will be taking the questions in the order they come in.” 

He added that the same will apply to requests for questions to be dealt with later in the meeting and that the questions will be gone through numerically, in accordance with when they are received by the HSE.

The new chairperson noted that each member is entitled to ask four questions per meeting, with a one-minute time to follow up. He also said questions need to be straightforward and to the point, as members “shouldn’t be trying to ask 20 questions within the four”, adding: “I know there can be a bit of back and forth but the questions asked are the questions asked and sometimes meetings go on until 5pm or 6pm when there is no need to.” 

If members continue to submit queries in the format of multiple questions within a question, the HSE would have to hold “two meetings or three meetings a week". 

The new chairperson also suggested that as members are often not happy with the answers they receive, they need to fine-tune their questions.

"Possibly the HSE haven’t made enough inroads on the topic, but it can also be that the members haven’t asked the right question, so I am sure there is a way to be a bit more precise with the question you ask to be more happy with the answer."

A new digital stopwatch counting down from three minutes was set running at the September meeting, with any speakers running over the time advised their time was up.

Responding to a complaint from Sligo forum member, Cllr Declan Bree, who claimed his questions had been edited, Cllr Crowe stated: “The Regional Health Forum already discussed this with you and suggested some compromises that might work and that is why not all of the questions you submitted were included.” 

Cllr Bree retorted that the same questions submitted to the June meeting had been deemed in order by the previous chairperson, and that while Cllr Crowe had said on election to the position of chairperson that his role was to hold the executive to account, he was now not allowing questions.

Speaking about himself in the third person, the new chairperson stated: “Cllr Crowe is in the chair now and has an obligation to all members to implement the standing orders as they are set out."

He then went on to tell Cllr Bree: “It’s now almost twenty past four. If every councillor was to put every question in multi-parts, we would be here until midnight.” 

He added: “I can only implement the rules as I see fit, this is nothing personal to you.” 

Cllr Bree said he accepted the chairperson's ruling, with Cllr Crowe thanking him for his cooperation.

As it stands, health forum meetings take place approximately eight times a year, starting at 2pm and often running for four or five hours as one after another, councillors from the seven counties in the regional forum raise up to four questions apiece. Despite best intentions, the September meeting continued until 5.40pm. A host of issues were raised, from care of older people, mental health services, waiting times on trolleys, hospital admission and discharge figures, and the rollout of primary care centres across the region, with standing orders having to be amended to allow the meeting go beyond the anticipated finish time of 4.30pm. However, some minutes were shaved off the final end time, with the meeting concluding at 5.40pm, and the chairperson ended by telling members: “This is how we roll.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.