Delays to Tallaght Hospital management reform damaging

THE whistle-blower who exposed Tallaght Hospital’s x-ray scandal has claimed delays in making key management changes called for by reviews into the crisis are continuing to damage the facility.

Prof Tom O’Dowd, a Tallaght- based GP, said management restructuring delays are linked to the Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) recent announcement that it is investigating emergency department issues at the hospital.

Prof O’Dowd, who heads the department of general practice at Trinity College, said that despite two official reports since January 2010 noting the need for a smaller permanent management board and the appointment of a GP to the group, these changes have not taken place.

As a result, he said top level management at Tallaght Hospital are failing to address governance issues at the facility.

“Basically, they still have the same board structure and have not responded to the need to have a GP representative on its board of management,” Prof O’Dowd told Irishhealth.com.

“Things have improved enormously [among staff], but there is a sense here of ignoring the fact that this is public money we are talking about. There is a need for public accountability and that seems to have been ignored. None of our hospitals can afford to ignore the talents and perspectives of the community they serve.”

Prof O’Dowd said there continues to be a need to appoint a local GP representative to Tallaght Hospital’s board so the hospital could respond properly to local community needs quickly.

He said following the x-ray scandal, individual staff at the hospital had taken on board the lessons to be learned. However, “real change” had been resisted by those governing and managing the facility, he said.

“Individual consultants at Tallaght have told me they admired what I did but I cannot say the governance of the hospital was very happy. They almost feel it [exposure of the scandal] shouldn’t have been done.”

Tallaght Hospital’s permanent board is due to end its term of office next week, on Sunday, July 31.

The hospital has indicated that after that date, it will appoint a smaller permanent board and will consider including GP and local community representatives.