Private patients cause waiting lists

PRIVATE patients are taking up increasing numbers of beds in public hospitals, adding to public waiting list times, according to a new international study.

An OECD survey found that 30% of scheduled surgery in Irish public hospitals is given over to private patients, even though the figure is supposed to be just 20%.

The survey of 12 OECD countries, also found that Ireland has the highest rate of private health insurance (PHI), taken out by 48% of the population, compared with just 11.5% in Britain (1998) and 0.45% in Norway.