Galway Clinic lets staff go as VHI refutes allegation of low cover rates

WHEN it opened two years ago, bearing none of the down-trodden, overcrowded hallmarks of our public hospital system, the splendour of the Galway Clinic drew justifiable comparisons with a luxury five-star hotel.

With its stylish architecture, spacious individual rooms and StarTrek-style nursing stations, it held the promise of tailor-made patient care in delightfully comfortable surrounds.

Clients were greeted by an automated grand piano in the atrium, delicately poised aloft a handwoven V’Soske Joyce carpet. It smelt of success and its founder had a history of success behind him.