Plans to double hospital’s dialysis services facing further delays

PLANS to almost double capacity for dialysis patients at a Dublin hospital where services are already overstretched face further delays following a Government request for a value-for-money (VFM) audit.

Last night, Beaumont Hospital, which has the largest renal dialysis unit in the country, confirmed proposals to increase its 24-station unit to 44 had been put on hold following the completion of a “new business case”.

A statement from the hospital said it had been told by the Health Service Executive (HSE) that the Department of Health requires a detailed value-for-money analysis comparing Beaumont’s new unit with the alternative of buying the required capacity from the private sector.

Beaumont, unable to meet demand for dialysis treatment, already contracts services from the private Beacon Hospital in Sandymount.

A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed the request for a new business case was made in the past week.

Plans for Beaumont’s expansion are already at an advanced stage, including some recruitment of additional staff.

The capital project was approved in 2003 and again in 2005 to reflect inflation. Planning permission has been sought.

A statement from Beaumont said subject to a speedy conclusion of the additional VFM analysis, Beaumont expects to have the new facility up and running before the end of 2007.

However, it is unclear why the VFM analysis has been requested given that secretary-general of the Department of Health Michael Scanlan indicated to the HSE that the analysis would only apply to projects costing over €30 million.

According to Beaumont, which provides regular dialysis services to more than 220 patients, the capital cost of the expansion is €11.7m.

Yesterday, the hospital’s chief executive Liam Duffy said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the rigorous business case already prepared for the approved dialysis unit will stand up to the additional VFM scrutiny now being sought.”

Beaumont’s existing 24-station unit operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is so overstretched that some patients can only get appointments for 3am.

Beaumont is the national centre for renal transplantation and has considerable experience in meeting the often complex needs of patients with renal failure.

According to the Irish Kidney Association, the number of people on dialysis has risen by 16% since the end of 2004 and by 54% in the past four years.

There are currently about 1,400 patients receiving dialysis in the Republic (1,364 patients as of March 2006).

In 1998, when the system was already regarded as being at saturation point and in crisis, Beaumont provided an average of just under four treatments per day per machine (3.96). Now it is providing an average of over five treatments per day per machine (5.13).