Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When we had the HSE representatives here before, the hospital groups described what they called "stretch targets". Based on what patients got from private medicine last year, they would now have a stretch target on top of that from private income. I asked the HSE to explain, if there were two patients on trolleys - one with private health insurance and one without - which one of them would get a bed. Does Dr. O'Conor have any insight into whether or not managers have influence? I think Deputy O'Connell's point was that concern was expressed by members of the committee that in a clinical situation the stretch targets may, in fact, take over. Where there is only one bed, but two patients with competing acuity, what influence do managers have?