Ireland's ageing population a challenge for public and private hospitals

CEO of Mater Private Hospital Cork calls for deeper collaboration between healthcare providers and policymakers

Sandra Daly, CEO of Mater Private Hospital Cork,  delivering the keynote speech at the Cork Chamber Business Breakfast in the Clayton Hotel, Cork City. Picture: Chani Anderson

The CEO of the Mater Private Hospital Cork said the industry must work in tandem with the public healthcare network to address the health needs of Ireland’s ageing population.

Sandra Daly was addressing the Cork Chamber’s Business Breakfast, where she spoke about the hospital’s expansion in Cork over the past decade and the challenges the sector is facing in the future.

Ms Daly, who has nearly 30 years of experience in healthcare in both the public and private sectors, said the hospital — located in Mahon — has expanded rapidly since it opened in 2013. 

The Mater Private has doubled its bed capacity and quadrupled its workforce to more than 500 employees, and now treats more than 74,000 patients annually. 

Ms Daly said this growth is part of a larger ambition to develop the campus into a “comprehensive healthcare plaza”.

The Mater Private is backed by owners InfraVia Capital Partners, who have invested €12m to expand its cardiac facilities.

Speaking to the audience of business leaders, Ms Daly said their industry faces many challenges, including sourcing skilled workers, rising inflation, and the changing nature of healthcare in Ireland.

“Our population is ageing, living longer and often with more complex conditions, and the public systems are stretched and private providers must step up,” she said, while calling for deeper collaboration between healthcare providers, employers, and policymakers — arguing that a healthy workforce is essential for a healthy economy.

Ms Daly said they face similar recruitment issues that other businesses have and said continuing efforts to make Cork attractive helps in this regard.

"We go internationally to recruit the best and the brightest,” she said.

"It’s not that they don’t want to work in the Mater, they’re absolutely delighted to come and work with us. 

"The question they have is about childcare? Where am I going to live? Can my children access school? They have no problem with what we’re doing, and they see the job as being inherently attractive.”

She said the healthcare industry continues to face cost pressures: “Healthcare is expensive and, unlike many sectors, medical inflation regularly outpaces general inflation — driven by new technologies, expensive treatments, and drug regimes; coupled with other cost pressures that you’re facing, such as rising energy and insurance costs.

“But despite this challenge, the region holds enormous opportunities for private healthcare providers.”

Asked about the rising use of AI in business and in healthcare, Ms Daly acknowledged the potential for the technology to streamline administrative functions and improve diagnostic accuracy, noting it’s being used for things like “radiology reports”.

However, she strongly emphasised that AI will “never replace that touch point between a clinician... and the patient, particularly when they’re very sick”.