Colm is the founder and former Director of One in Four, the national NGO that supports women and men who have experienced sexual violence. He has also served as a member of Seanad Éireann and is an author and regular media commentator and contributor.
Health is something we take for granted, until we face a crisis of some kind. Men especially, as so many of us are inclined to live with delusions that we are somehow invulnerable to ill health, which is hugely worrying of course. So much of healthcare is now about health screening and positive action to ensure good health, and that clearly requires that we think about our health and act to ensure that we protect ourselves from health risks by taking positive steps.My health is pretty good all in all. I have struggled with my weight over the years but have gotten that under control, nothing like hitting forty to focus the mind in many ways. I realised then that issues like being overweight were a real concern and that age was a real complicating factor. So I got serious about it and haven’t looked back. The positive benefit is that I now approach my health from a health promotion perspective. I am very conscious of the choices I make in managing my weight, stress levels etc, which has improved not only my physical health but my state of mind and general wellbeing.
My healthcare is all about diet, exercise and trying to make sure I make time in my life for fun and family. I exercise four to five times a week, eat my dinner in the middle of the day, and do my best to manage stress levels and keep life in balance. That’s often the biggest challenge. Work and the business of living, managing family life, getting the kids to school, making sure they have everything they need, keeping a home secure…all that important stuff can mean that there is little time to enjoy real downtime, to play, or have some time for reflection and relaxation. I need to get better at that.
My health fear is being seriously or chronically ill. I really value my health and vitality. I would be a terrible patient, as I have little tolerance for not being well and being unable to go at life at the pace and with the passion that I do. I think I would really struggle with accepting ill-health, that physical ill-health would have a terrible impact on my life and on my mental health as well.
My healthcare fear is getting ill and not receiving or being able to access good healthcare. I don’t have private health insurance for example at the moment. Having lived in the UK for years and having gotten used to the NHS there I have never gotten used to the idea that our system is so unequal that private health insurance is vital if one is to have as much confidence as possible that healthcare will be available if and when it is needed.
Ireland’s health is a mixed bag. The sad reality is that health in Ireland is dependent upon who you are, where you come from and how much money you have. Health inequalities in Ireland are shameful in my opinion, and simply unacceptable.
Ireland’s healthcare is a bit of a mess to be honest. I realise that’s a pretty damning statement but I think it is a reasonable one to make. For a start we have never even defined what our healthcare system is, or who is responsible for ensuring that there is equal access to good quality essential health care services. We haven’t even defined what ‘essential health care services’ are. We have invested enormous sums of money, and many people within the system at all levels have worked incredibly hard to improve things, and there have been improvements, but we haven’t done the very basic work of agreeing what it is we want our healthcare system to look like, and most importantly who will be responsible and then accountable for delivering it.
My healthcare dream for Ireland is a system that guarantees every person living in Ireland equal access to good quality essential healthcare services based upon their medical need alone, and not on who they are or how much money they have.
I, Colm O’Gorman have signed the Healthcare Guaranteed petition and have asked the government to provide a legal guarantee of equal access to healthcare in Ireland.
You should too.
