Decision to privatise community hospital a disgrace

THE recent announcement by the HSE that the newly-built 100-bed Ballincollig Community Hospital is being put out to tender as a private (for profit) hospital is a disgrace.

Using the Government embargo on recruitment as an excuse, the HSE is about to hand over this hospital, built with taxpayers’ money, to private operators. The HSE will then use taxpayers’ money to fund the equipment and operation of the hospital while the private operators make a handsome profit on the backs of workers.

The further revelation in the Irish Examiner (May 22) that a secret advisory board of rich people exists to advise the HSE in the Cork area once again exposes the golden circle that runs the show in this dismal and corrupt little state. The future of our health service is now being discussed behind closed doors by a collection of property developers, medical millionaires, horse trainers and university presidents.

More disconcerting, however, is the revelation that a senior official of HSE South is also a member of this secret group. It was this body that made the public announcement that Ballincollig Community Hospital was being put out to tender for a private operator.

The announcement came on the completion of the hospital at an event attended by Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe, who himself first announced the privatisation plan on a Fianna Fáil website in February.

This in itself is a little bit strange for a minister who usually has a small army of publicists working around the clock on his behalf and who is not known for making low-key announcements. Did the idea of privatising Ballincollig Community Hospital emanate from this secret group of advisers by any chance and was Mr O’Keeffe, a former chair of the SHB, made privy to the decision back in February? Ballincollig Community Hospital is one of 12 such units being built across the state at a cost of €112 million of public money in order to free up acute beds in our general hospitals. Health Minister Mary Harney says she has no general policy to privatise these convalescent hospitals.

Who then decided to privatise the Ballincollig one? It is not beyond belief that the decision was taken by HSE South based on a recommendation from this secret advisory body.

Des O’Grady

Farran

Ovens

Co Cork