Objector said Kingsbridge MRI plan could lead to unit closure at Sligo Hospital
AN APPEAL to An Bord Pleanala aginst the granting of planning permission to Kingsbridge private hospital in Sligo to install an MRI scanner has been turned down.
One of the grounds of appeal was that it would compete with Sligo University Hospital for private patients and this would affect the funding of the public hospital.
The appeal by David Tobin of 3 Bay View, Rosses Point, was against the decision made on October 23 last by Sligo County Council to grant permission to Alliance Medical Diagnostic Imaging Limited for the installation of a relocatable MRI unit and a modular clinical support unit at Kingsbridge Private Hospital, Ray MacSharry Road, Gardenhill.
The planning inspector Máire Daly noted that the proposed facilities, which are to be located in two connected prefab buildings in the car park of the hospital, are described as “a mid-term solution to meet the current demand for additional diagnostic services while planning the future development of the site”.
The applicants said the MRI unit will be operated by Alliance Medical in partnership with Kingsbridge Private Hospital and will facilitate imaging for patients attending the private hospital.
In his appeal, Mr Tobin said that the need for the proposed development was not discussed in the application other than to claim it was needed to reduce waiting times for scanning in the area.
There is no evidence to back up the planning officer’s claims and the applicant in this instance does not appear to be the hospital but a third party.
He also contended that the development of another MRI unit was unnecessary as there was already a wellrun MRI unit in the regional hospital which is also available for private use with no waiting times.
Mr Tobin contended that the new proposed unit, if permitted, would compete with the existing unit for private patients and “this will undoubtedly affect the funding of the existing unit which is clearly underpinned by its use by private patients”.
“This in turn could result in the MRI unit in the regional hospital closing,” he said.
Mr Tobin said this would create a significant disadvantage to the public as the only MRI then in town would be on the grounds of a private hospital. “This will obviously further erode the medical procedures and diagnosis available in Sligo Regional,” he said. He also took issue with the unit being installed in a prefad building, saying that it should be located within the hospital building or should at least be linked to it rather than separately provided in the car park. Mr Tobin also questioned the loss of car parking spaces and claimed a corner of the building would protrude out into the roadway linking the car park to the rest of the hospital grounds thereby creating a conflict between pedestrians and cars. He also said the buildings “will be visually intrusive and entirely out of character with the area”.
In response, Alliance Medical Diagnostic Imaging Limited said that the prefac units would only be used on an interim basis pending the completion of the more permanent accommodation to be provided in Phase 3 of the masterplan for the hospital which will provide a new imaging suite. This development is Phase 1 of the plan and Phase 2 is the new theatre block for which planning permission was granted recently.
The company argued that there was “an acute need” for an additional MRI facility in Sligo.
They pointed out that on two dates in November 2020 the waiting time for a private MRI scan by the private provider Affidea in Sligo Regional Hospital was approximately two to three weeks.
However, they said that there was an 18-month waiting list for the HSE public MRI scans. They said a recent HSE tender highlighted the need for an additional MRI service to be provided for GP practices in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo to the volume of 250 scans per month. “The demand for diagnostic imaging has increased by approximately 10% per annum and there is currently a capacity deficit in the region given that only one MRI scanner in Sligo Regional Hospital serves the needs of all patients for the wider region. “Covid-19 has also increased the backlog of appointments which will increase demand for MRI scans,” the company stated.
The planning inspector noted that the applicant provided further details that the proposed masterplan envisages a 7-year development period for the future proposed development and that these plans have been discussed previously with Sligo County Council and that it was not possible to locate the MRI scanner within the existing hospital building at this juncture. The inspector also noted that the applicant also highlighted that it was “not the function of the planning system to inhibit the provision of services, especially acute health services on the perception that these services are already catered for”.
She said that she would agree with the applicant on this point and considered the assessment of the development was contingent on its suitability from a planning perspective. Ms Daly did not see the loss of six parking spaces as a problem as she said on the day of her site visit the car park was ony 50% occupied.
She recommended the granting of permission and the planning board agreed that the proposed development “would not seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health and would be acceptable in terms of traffic and pedestrian safety and visual amenity”.
A condition of the planning permission for the temporary unit is that it is for a period of seven years only.