Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I have tabled a motion on the Adjournment regarding the situation of a constituent in County Roscommon who is the holder of a full medical card. She was referred by her general practitioner to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe for a DEXA bone scan on 14 January 2005.

The hospital was purchased by the Western Health Board with the approval of the Department of Health and Children in autumn 2001. As chairman of the board, I had the honour of signing the contract for the purchase of the hospital, which cost approximately €14 million. It was an excellent decision, and it worked very well within the framework of the Western Health Board. It has given the staff of the hospital security they would not have had but for the fact that it was purchased by the Fianna Fáil Administration on the basis that there would be a full public hospital.

I was very surprised, to say the least, when my constituent brought me the bill from something called the consultant radiology group within the hospital for carrying out the DEXA scan on 14 January 2005. That account came to €71. Any public hospital such as Portiuncula is fully funded by the State via the western region of the HSE. All the staff are employed by the State, and all the equipment has been purchased by it. All the electricity and power to run the scanner is supplied by the State. Nursing and ancillary staff are paid by it. However, we hear of the consultant radiology group.

There are serious questions to be asked about this issue, and I seek an answer from the Department, although I know it currently has some other issues with which to deal. This is probably another indication of issues that will arise in future regarding the carrying out of private consultancies in a public hospital, the use of public equipment for private medicine, and the charging of a public patient, who in this case finds it very difficult to find €71. It is a great deal of money to someone on a full medical card, who does not have readily available funds. She was referred by her general practitioner to the hospital, as far as I am concerned on the basis that the scan would be carried out by the State without charge. That was certainly the impression she was under and she was quite surprised to receive the account later in the month. She was also particularly upset when she received a demand yesterday threatening legal action unless the bill was paid.

I do not normally table motions on the Adjournment, since it imposes a cost on the State in having to supply information. However, I felt that a policy area was involved that was of significance to the Department of Health and Children, in which, like the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, I served. I am very concerned at this issue. My advice to my constituent is that I do not believe she is legally or morally liable, and I hope the reply is positive in that regard and will give us some information on this practice by a group in the hospital.