Advanced Practice roles in Radiography and Radiation Therapy

INTRODUCTION
People in Ireland are living longer than ever before and life expectancy is now above the OECD
average at 84 years for women and 79 for men. Between 2015 and 2017 the number of people aged
over 65 years is expected to increase by almost 10% and those over 85 by 12% and this trend is set
to continue.
This represents a significant challenge to our health service with recent statistics indicating that 87%
of the population over 65 years are living with at least one chronic illness. Cancer rates are predicted
to rise by 4% year on year which equates to over 36,000 new cases diagnosed each year with
incidence rates expected to double by the year 2040 (NCRI report – Cancer projections for Ireland
2015-2040).
The HSE’s corporate plan 2015-2017 ‘building a high quality health service for a healthier Ireland’
recognizes these challenges and aims to set out a vision for the future configuration of our health
service. It envisages a wide range of service improvements with a focus on reform and better
outcomes.
The HSE’s programme for health service improvement ‘Building a better health service’ outlines a
vision as to how we will build a better health service over time with specific deliverables for example
designing models of care which are patient-centred, evidence based and clinically led across the
whole service. Read More Advanced Practice roles in Radiography and Radiation Therapy