Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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427. To ask the Minister for Health his views on an article (details supplied) regarding charges to private patients for use of public hospital beds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44245/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides that all persons ordinarily resident in the country are entitled, subject to certain charges, to all in-patient public hospital services in public wards including consultant services and out-patient pubic hospital services including consultants services.

Section 55 provides that the HSE may provide private in-patient services to persons who are not entitled to, or who do not have or have waived eligibility to public in-patient services. An essential element of the eligibility arrangements is that the public or private status of a patient must be specified on admission to hospital.

Section 55 of the Health Act 1970 (as amended) also provides for the charging of private in-patients. Where a patient elects to be treated privately by a consultant the hospital must treat that patient as a private patient. Persons who opt to be private on admission to hospital are liable for the fees of all consultants involved in his or her care and for hospital charges under Section 55 for that episode of care. The hospital charge applicable depend on the hospital treating the patient and on whether a person is accommodated in a single or multiple occupancy room or on a day case basis. The application of a charge by a hospital for in-patient services is obligatory under the legislation, irrespective of whether the patient occupies a public designated bed or private designated bed, as it relates to the private service provided.

The private in-patient charge goes towards meeting part of the cost of providing the hospital's services to private patients, for example, the cost of non-consultant doctors, nursing, diagnostic services (such as x-rays and other scans), laboratory services (such as blood tests etc.), medicines and capital costs.

In the case of a chemotherapy or dialysis patient, best practice is to treat him/her in a seated or reclining position, on a therapy chair or a recliner, rather than on a bed. Treatment trollies are routinely used in day surgery procedures such as colonoscopy. It is therefore appropriate to charge for the private service provided.

The private in-patient charges do not apply to patients receiving accident and emergency treatment. They only apply where the person has been admitted to the hospital as a private in-patient.