587. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Health his views on the appointment of a chief pharmacist within the HSE senior leadership team to help establish pharmacist representation within the governance structures of the newly established regional health areas and the community healthcare networks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39972/24]

Health Regions, each led by a Regional Executive Officer (REO), are new HSE structures which now have responsibility for the planning and coordinated delivery of health and social care services for their respective populations.

Each Health Region has an Executive Management Team (EMT) led by the REO. The EMTs are critical structures for each Region. They will provide the governance and organisational arrangements to enable the planning, management, and delivery of integrated care for people and for communities across their region. Their structure must facilitate clear lines of governance, represent an appropriate span of control for the REO, and ensure that services and staff can benefit from swift and accountable decision-making.

The clinical roles which sit on the Health Region EMT do not exist to represent their professions. Rather, they hold executive accountability for a portfolio of work, which includes collaboration and coordination across professions. This is the best way of delivering integrated care in the interests of patients and service users and breaking down professional silos.