Harney health plan fails to deliver

THERE has been much debate recently regarding hospital co-location.

It is clear that Mary Harney is spinning the plan to communicate that it benefits public patients more, using the argument that private patients would need less public beds under such a scheme. However, the plan should not be described as being the most beneficial one for public or private patients.

People pay for voluntary health insurance on the basis that they expect to receive a better standard of care as a result. Therefore, any scheme to create more private hospitals for private patients would obviously lead to the expectation that such hospitals would provide superior healthcare to public hospitals.