New private hospitals ‘must be adjacent to public facilities’

A GOVERNMENT report has recommended that all new private hospitals should be located adjacent to existing public hospitals in order to combine resources for the benefit of public and private patients.

The recommendation is contained in a policy statement - the first of its kind on private hospitals - which has been finalised by Tánaiste Mary Harney. It will be published shortly.

Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley said, up to now, there was no government policy on the development of the private hospital sector. “The Tánaiste and I agree new private hospitals should be located near existing public hospitals. For instance, there are a number of parties interested in opening a private hospital in Limerick and we want it located on the campus of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle, so as to bring in new services and avoid duplication.”