Fined hospitals defend records

HOSPITALS penalised for bad management and keeping patients in beds for too long have defended work practices and criticised the carrot and stick approach adopted by the Department of Health.

Some of the country’s leading hospitals including Tallaght, Mercy Hospital Cork, Maher and St James’ have been fined a total of €6.4m. The money will be reallocated to more efficient hospitals under a system designed to make hospitals more cost-effective.

While acknowledging the process was accepted by all hospitals, a Tallaght Hospital spokesperson said the model did not always take into consideration the different stages of development among the participating hospitals.