More patients refused by TB hospital

UP TO seven patients, some with TB, have been refused admission to Peamount Hospital since last Wednesday, despite being referred there for treatment by doctors.

The decision not to treat these patients at the national specialist referral centre for TB comes on foot of an amendment made this week to a High Court interim injunction giving hospital management control of admissions.

The amendment was the latest in a series of court actions hastened by the hospital’s decision to terminate the contract of its medical director, Professor Luke Clancy.

Last night, Peamount chief executive Robin Mullen said he could not put a figure on the number of patients refused admission since last Wednesday as he was “not a clinician”. He said a patient, a non-national, referred to Peamount by doctors at the Mater Hospital last Wednesday, with a highly infectious strain of the illness, was refused admission because of the acuteness of his condition.

Peamount was not an appropriate location for patients who were acutely ill, a view held by Comhairle na nOspidéal, Mr Mullen said. However, he was unable to say if he knew whether the non-national patient was acute before the decision to send him back to the Mater was made.

“I cannot comment on individual cases,” Mr Mullen said, adding that it was hospital policy, following recommendations from Comhairle, that TB patients be referred elsewhere.

The hospital has developed a five-year strategy to transform the former sanatorium into a centre for rehabilitation and continuing care services for the elderly and intellectually disabled. The strategy rejected the option of having a chest hospital on site, which means it will gradually transfer its 30-bed TB unit to another hospital.

The decision to turn away a seriously-ill man as part of that management strategy yesterday led to calls from the opposition parties for Health Minister Micheál Martin to get involved.

Labour health spokesperson Deputy Liz McManus said it was unacceptable that decisions “that have always been made by qualified medical personnel as to the most appropriate location for the treatment of patients should now be over-ruled by hospital management”.

She said the refusal to take this patient was in direct conflict with assurances given by Mr Mullen that Peamount would continue to take TB patients. In a recent interview on RTÉ Radio, Mr Mullen said the service to TB patients would continue, despite the hospital decision to terminate the contract of its only respiratory consultant.

A spokesperson for Mr Martin could not comment on the Peamount situation because the hospital was still involved in legal action.

The Irish Medical Organisation yesterday called for an immediate meeting of the high-level group established under Sustaining Progress on the future of hospital services at Peamount.

IMO President Dr Joe Barry called on the Minister to clarify the ultimate medical and legal responsibility for any patients refused admission to Peamount.

“Management at the hospital have failed completely to engage in discussions on changes despite attempts to initiate a process of dialogue by both the IMO and the Irish Nurses Organisation.”