Senior hospital staff accused of accepting gifts

Senior staff in a number of the country’s hospitals have been accused of taking expensive gifts and holidays from a surgical supplies company in breach of the rules of their employment.

A report by RTÉ’s investigations unit on dealings between Eurosurgical and hospital purchasing officers and other staff in a number of hospitals also claimed commercially sensitive data was passed to the company, including competitors’ price lists, and they agreed to pay multiples of what they would have paid to a competitor.

In the case of two senior hospital staff in two Dublin hospitals, it was claimed expensive holidays were paid for by Eurosurgical, though in one of those cases a lawyer for the staff member said he reimbursed money to Alan Kane, an owner of Eurosurgical, and in the case of the other, Eurosurgical itself was quoted as saying the staff member reimbursed the cost in cash.