€6,000 a week on private CT scans as Mallow scanner lies idle

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) is paying a private hospital €6,000 per week to perform CT scans on patients attending a public hospital where a €1.5 million scanner lies idle.

For the past three weeks, patients attending Mallow General Hospital in north Cork have been sent to the Bon Secours private hospital in Cork City, where each scan is carried out at a cost per patient of €600.

A HSE spokesperson said up to 10 patients a week are being referred to the Bon Secours for the high-spec diagnostic test, bringing the total spend on the private service so far to approximately €18,000.