Private-clinic nixers carried out in public hospital

MEDICAL staff were doing nixers in a public hospital for Barringtons private clinic in Limerick, it has emerged.

The private hospital had a financial arrangement to have tests carried out at the publicly funded University Hospital Galway (UHG) by individual staff there.

The Department of Health, on learning of the arrangement, contacted the head of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm, and asked him for all such work to cease.

The secretary-general of the department, Michael Scanlan, wrote to Prof Drumm in July following the publication of a HIQA review into breast cancer services at UHG, including the case of “Ms A” who was twice mistakenly given the all-clear from breast caner.

“Ms A” had been treated at the private Barringtons Hospital in Limerick and her testing was done at UHG.

In his letter Mr Scanlan said it would appear the services provided in respect of “Ms A” were on foot of “an informal long-standing private arrangement between individual doctors at UHG and Barringtons”.

Mr Scanlan said that, while there was no formal arrangement, it seemed there were “financial arrangements” in place.

This service has now been halted and Barringtons transferred its breast cancer services to other private facilities.

In correspondence released under the Freedom of Information act, to irishhealth.com, Mr Scanlan said the primary responsibility of public hospitals is to provide services for their own patients, both public and private.

He added: “It would be wrong for such patients, particularly public patients, to be disadvantaged [in the form of slower access to diagnostic or other services] as a result of public hospitals providing services to private hospital/facility.”

Mr Scanlan said public hospitals should only consider providing such services where they had spare capacity. He said consultants in public hospitals doing work for private hospitals under this arrangement may not be fully insured against negligence.

Mr Scanlan asked Prof Drumm to undertake an immediate review of all current arrangements where public hospitals provide services to private hospitals. In the circumstances, Mr Scanlan said that any such practices which are identified should cease pending a full review of all the circumstances involved.