Hospital plan consultants ‘not consulted’

CONSULTANTS in Waterford have told the city council they were never asked about plans for a private hospital in the city, so cannot support the plan.

Fifteen specialist consultants from Waterford Regional Hospital have made a written submission to Waterford City Council on the proposal by Harlequin Healthcare for a 3.85-hectare site at Kilbarry, saying they are not in a position to support the venture.

The consultants complain about a lack of consultation with the backers of the project.

A spokesman for Harlequin said yesterday that he had just written to Dr Bob Landers of WRH clarifying the matter. “There has been some consultation regarding our project,” he said.

“But more of the specifics need to be discussed in greater detail.”

In a separate development, Dr Dolores Liddy of King’s Channel in Waterford and Michael Morrissey of Blacknock, Kilmeaden, have also written to the planning authority expressing concern at various features of the Harlequin site.

Mr Morrissey says that the proposal contravenes the zoning for the area; that access arrangements are poor and that the proposal does not link effectively with services or with the population it is intended to serve.