Closing of the policy window
The EAG process reflected the dynamic and unstable environment in which policy is formulated and a num- ber of interviewees reflected on the unfortunate timing of the recommendations. There were two changes which led to the closing of the policy window: the increasing economic recession and the establishment of the Quality and Clinical Care Directorate within the HSE. The EAG was seen as an “overdue opportunity to bring services for all people with diabetes in Ireland into the 21st Century” (p. 2) [39]. However, by the time the recommendations were formulated, health service budgets were contract- ing and there was a recruitment embargo in place in the health system. One interviewee admitted “it was more likely that more of it could have been implemented a few years ago because we were probably a little bit more financially secure.”
During the process, the establishment of the Clinical Care Directorate and its disease or sector-specific Clin- ical Care Programmes was identified as a policy window. The proposal to establish a clinical care programme for diabetes with a dedicated national lead was brokered by a number of policy entrepreneurs. One interviewee re- ferred to the instrumental role of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland, which had ‘claim to a hearing’ with the Minister for Health, as described in the Multiple Streams theory. Acceptance at the highest levels of governance in the health system was crucial as the group “didn’t really get an impetus for the national lead until we actually got [the Minister for Health] on board”. Considering the other cri- teria for survival in the policy stream, the role of a national clinical lead had already been successfully established for cancer care (technical feasibility); hence, the proposal was in line with values in the health system at that time (acceptability). It was also mutually beneficial as it kept diabetes on the national agenda and introduced national leadership. It was also a potential “quick win” for the newly established Clinical Care Directorate; due to the groundwork of the EAG they “didn’t have to start from scratch” formulating recommendations.