Cllr claims private companies are making “a fortune” using Sligo University Hospital to conduct medical procedures at weekends
WHY a private company using HSE staff in Sligo University Hospital to provide weekend endoscopy services and making a profit as they do so, was raised this week by a member of Sligo County Council who said the companies were making “a fortune”.
Cllr Declan Bree said it “beggars belief” that the HSE are not doing this themselves. He said the companies doing the work were not a charity, were entitled to make a profit and were making a profit.
He was informed the endoscopy procedures were carried out over 14 weekends at a total cost of €472,000.
Cllr Bree said he could not understand why a private company and not the HSE is providing the weekend endoscopy services at Sligo University Hospital.
“I understand the service was provided by hospital staff, medical, nursing, theatre, nursing, administrative, porters, cleaners and so on who work on the weekends to provide the endoscopy service and then the hospital management pays almost half a million euro to the private company,” he said.
Cllr Bree added: “I just find it incredible that a private company can use a HSE hospital and facilities and use HSE staff to provide endoscopy services and then charge the HSE a fortune for the service.
“Why, in this day and age, can the management of the hospital not provide such a service at weekends?
“The hospital belongs to the HSE, the facilities belong to the HSE, the staff are HSE staff and if the management of a private company can operate the service and make substantial profits why is it the HSE management is incapable of providing this service at weekends,” he asked.
Having sought the information he was told at Tuesday’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum West (RHFW) that the private companies who provided endoscopy procedures in 2023 for SUH are Totally Health Care and
Alliance Clinical Services. Totally Healthcare carried out symptomatic GI lists in 2023 for 14 weekends. Totally Healthcare delivered 472 additional scope procedures. The total cost of the scopes carried out was €472,000.
Alliance Clinical Services carried out a bowel screen list for one weekend and it was arranged and funded through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, Bowelscreen.
Both companies used the services and equipment within the Endoscopy unit to carry out these procedures and they also used the Lab services for the histology results, the response from the RHFW stated.
Ann Cosgrove, Chief Operating Officer, Saolta University Healthcare Group, responding at Tuesday’s meeting to Cllr Bree’s views about the use of the private companies, said that because of the service 472 patients had endoscopy procedures conducted that would otherwise not have happened ordinarily.
She said: “The staff working at the weekends are employed by the company, not by the hospital when they are doing what are additional lists.
“The clinical services find this kind of arrangement where the patients have the procedure in the hospital and where their clinical information is available to consultants for follow up to be a good system.
“In the absence of having additional staff staffed sessions or additional staff facilities during the week this is an opportunity to give access to more patients at weekends.”
It was acknowledged that the private company receives a payment, but the payment they receive is to pay the staff for the work done. “People are doing this work outside their existing contractual commitments to the HSE and also some external staff - the staff used is a mix of both.
“For us, in the very short term, given the scale of the waiting lists we have, we are using every opportunity to gain access for patients to services, and this is one of those opportunities.
“It was formally procured, went through the HSE procurement system and it abides by those procurement regulations,” he was told.
Responding, Cllr Bree repeated: “It just doesn’t make any sense that a company comes in and does this work - they are not a charity, they are a private company, they are allowed to make a profit, they are making a profit.
“They are using HSE staff to provide this service in a HSE hospital. Why in the name of goodness can the HSE management not pay HSE staff to provide the service in a HSE hospital? It just beggars belief.”