Senior CUH clinicians defend €2.3m spend on external management consultants

The Cork hospital 'simply did not have the capacity clinically or managerially' to implement reforms on its own

The South/Southwest Hospital Group, which includes Cork University Hospital, said €1,765,148 was paid to PwC between January and May. This brings the bill since October to €2,373,400.

Cork University Hospital (CUH) spent almost €1.8m between January and May on external management consultants on top of paying €608,000 last year to the same firm.

The hospital and senior clinicians have now defended the outlay, saying they do not have the capacity clinically or managerially to make much-needed reforms on their own.

The South/Southwest Hospital Group, which includes CUH, said €1,765,148 was paid to PwC between January and May. This brings the bill since October to €2,373,400.

The details were released to Labour TD Sean Sherlock who questioned the justification for this spend.

“If I was a doctor or nurse or an employee of CUH looking at those figures, I think I would be shocked,” said Mr Sherlock.

“Is it now the case that PwC is running CUH?”

“There is a managerial team within CUH and there is an over-arching South/Southwest Hospital Group structure, there should be more than enough internal resources and allocation of staff to manage the day-to-day running of CUH.”

He called for a “line by line” examination.

“This is profligate spending. There is clearly a culture within CUH that suggests that external consultancy entities are best placed to manage the day-to-day running of the hospital, and that existing staff are not.”

Health unions, through the National Joint Council, previously wrote to the HSE on this and Fórsa trade union instructed members not to engage with PwC.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said: “The fact that one hospital has spent over €1.7m, equating to over €11,700 per day, on consultancy fees in the space of five months is truly shocking.

“Senior HSE management needs to direct hospitals to cease the practice of outsourcing to consultancy firms.”

However, CUH clinical director for emergency and acute care Conor Deasy said he is “extremely grateful” for the external support, particularly with work on ambulance turnaround times.

“We have gone from having one of the worst ambulance offload delays in the country, averaging over 90 minutes delayed, to one of the best, averaging 45 minutes now, thanks to this professional, co-ordinated project management approach to quality improvement,” said Dr Deasy.

National Trauma Centre

PwC is also project-managing the new National Trauma Centre.

“We are accountable to patients, families, and the taxpayer for this new investment. We simply did not have the capacity clinically or managerially to do this on our own,” he said.

Clinical director for oncology services Seamus O’Reilly said with waiting lists of 30,000 “continuing with business as usual was not an option”.

“Since October, they have helped us set up a new cancer board, which has already resulted in improvements in our cancer care performance, though we still have a lot more work to do,” said Prof O’Reilly.

It is understood PwC is also involved in a project for a new outpatient centre on Curraheen Rd.

A spokesman said CUH will reduce spending on external consultants in line with a pledge by HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster.

“CUH is working towards developing its own in-house team,” said the spokesman.