Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to the Deputy's questions about private and elective hospitals and will ask Dr. Glynn and the other witnesses to come in on what is happening in Vienna. The short answer on private hospitals is "Yes". All of the private hospitals are currently being engaged with by the HSE as part of the winter plan. Funding has been provided for that. The arrangement that was put in place in March and April was negotiated as a single contract with the Private Hospitals Association. This time around, the private hospitals have elected to negotiate one by one and that is what the HSE is doing. The first goal is to secure capacity through the winter for public patients to get elective procedures, to answer the Deputy's point. The second goal is to ensure capacity in the event of a surge. That is currently being looked at.