Doctors fear for private patients as clinics axed
DOCTORS fear for hundreds of patients in need of surgery and check-ups as delays begin to emerge after the nationalisation effectively of private hospitals.
One consultant warned there could be ‘huge mortality rates’ in some areas as treatment is postponed while units lie idle as they await the coronavirus surge.
The HSE has said the continuity of care has been guaranteed for formerly private patients.
But the Irish Mail on Sunday is aware of the case of a woman, aged 65, whose breast cancer surgery can’t go ahead in Bon Secours Cork as her surgeon says insurance no longer covers him to operate in the public system following the deal reached between the HSE and private hospitals on March 30.
It comes as it emerged the number of public patients waiting for surgery jumped a record 11,000 in just a month to 77,748, as hospitals cancel operations to free up beds, ICUs and staff for the coronavirus surge.
The woman, who has been waiting five months for her surgery does not wish to be named, but her family told the MoS: ‘It’s really worrying that we might have to see her go back through chemo once again, we thought we had reached the end of this journey.
‘To be just hours away from the finish line and have that pulled away is really heartbreaking.’
A spokesman for the Bon Secours Hospital Group told the MoS it wasn’t in a position to comment on cancelled surgeries. But it is understood the group is in talks with the Irish Hospital Consultation Group on the issue.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association is also in talks with the HSE as private-only consultants are not in agreement with the new measures amid concerns for their patients, as well as fears over medical indemnity insurance.
The HSE denied there is a problem with a spokeswoman insisting: ‘There is insurance in place from signing the heads of terms with the private hospitals. Insurance is not an issue.’
Dr Michael Harty, GP and former TD, told the MoS that one of his own patients couldn’t avail of a service he usually gets in the Bons Secours in Dublin earlier this week and that he needed to be referred to the public system.
Commenting on the issue in general, he said: ‘This is a complex area because for patients who are in the private system undergoing active treatment for chronic illness, there would appear to be a problem if that consultant who was looking after that patient privately now no longer has access to private facilities. That could include outpatient as well as theatre space.
‘So, if they haven’t signed the public-only contract yet for various reasons, would they have medical indemnity insurance? I don’t think that has been clarified yet, so I can imagine surgeons would be very reluctant to operate on anyone if there was any doubt.’
Michael O’Keefe, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon in the Mater Private who also worked in the public sector for 20 years, said: ‘The private hospitals made some sort of agreement with the HSE, we haven’t seen heads of agreement, we don’t know what it is but they didn’t consider the consultants in this.
‘All the private hospitals are empty, there’s no routine work going on. It’s the other areas like orthopaedics – in the months to come we could see huge morbidity or mortality rates. The private hospitals should have been left to deal with these patients to avoid serious issues down the line.’
‘Consultant warned of huge mortality rates’