Written answers
Tuesday, 3 November 2020
Department of Health
Hospital Services
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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166. To ask the Minister for Health the engagements he has had with the private hospital owners' association regarding access to those hospitals since he became Minister; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33473/20]
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In March, in anticipation of the projected surge in Covid-19 cases and the expected impact on the health care system, a critical part of the response was to urgently ramp up capacity for acute hospital care facilities. An important element of the strategy was to put in place an arrangement with the private hospitals to use their facilities as part of the public system, to provide essential acute hospital services for the duration of the emergency. Following negotiations with the Private Hospitals Association an overarching agreement with the 18 private acute hospitals was agreed at the end of March. Under the agreement, the HSE secured 100% of the capacity of the private hospitals until the end of June.
Following termination of the agreement the Government mandated the HSE to seek to agree, with the private hospitals on a new arrangement which would provide the HSE with full access to private hospital capacity in the event of a surge of Covid-19 cases and separately with ongoing agreed access, in conjunction with the National Treatment Purchase Fund, to private hospital services to address the HSE's priority needs in providing both urgent time-critical care and addressing elective care for public patients experiencing delays.
In August the HSE initiated a procurement process to secure access to additional acute services and diagnostic capacity from private providers which is required to address anticipated shortfalls over the next two years. The process is due to be completed soon, and a panel put in place, following which each hospital will run mini competitions for the services they need.
In the meantime, the Department has approved a temporary HSE arrangement for the treatment of patients in private hospitals pending the finalisation of the national procurement process. The negotiations in the event of a surge are ongoing.
In relation to the engagements I have had with the Private Hospitals Association since I became Minister, the information requested by the Deputy is provided in the attached table, which details contacts between the Department of Health and the Private Hospitals Association from 29th June 2020 to 23rd October 2020.
Date | Time | Name of DoH Staff in Contact with PHA | Contact Type | Name of PHA Contact | Broad description of meeting/email/call |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
06/07/2020 | 19:24 | Minister's Diary email | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Letter requesting meeting | |
08/07/2020 | 15:08 | Minister's Diary email obo Matthew O'Gorman (Private Secretary to Minister Donnelly) | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Acknowledgment | |
10/09/2020 | 16:53 | Minister's Diary email | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Request for meeting in respect of winter planning and other potential assistance | |
11/09/2020 | 18:35 | Minister's Diary email | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Acknowledgment | |
06/10/2020 | 09:02 | Susan Mitchell (Advisor to Min Donnelly) | Iarla Mongey | Fowarded meeting request | |
07/10/2020 | 13:40 | Miriam Rooney (Private Secretary to Minister Donnelly) | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Forwarded meeting request | |
16/10/2020 | 16:52 | Minister's Diary email obo Miriam Rooney | Iarla Mongey obo John Hurley | Acceptance of meeting request | |
20/10/2020 | In the am | Denise Kelly (Minister's Diary) | Phone Call | Iarla Mongey | Confirming list of attendees/ details for upcoming meeting |
20/10/2020 | 15:12 | Minister's Diary email | Iarla Mongey | Provided list of attendees | |
21/10/2020 | 15:00 - 16:00 | Minister Donnelly, Greg Dempsey (Deputy Secretary General), David R Smith (Director) | Meeting | Iarla Mongey, John Hurley, Bill Maher, James O'Donoghue, Nadia Putoshilova | Winter Initiative, Level 5 (Video Conference) |
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