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Connolly Hospital scanner refused by HSE
Community Voice exclusive

Dublin 15 patients may be forced to wait for at least three years for vital diagnostic equipment including an MRI scanner because of a decision by the HSE to wait until after the proposed new private hospital has been built and opened on the grounds of Connolly Hospital.

This shocking news was broken by a senior HSE official at a recent briefing meeting for local TDs representing the north and north west areas of Dublin. At this meeting it was stated that the HSE has dropped proposals to provide MRI scanner in Connolly Hospital and are now proposing instead to allow the operators of the new private hospital to provide the service instead.

Community Voice understands that this hospital will be built and operated by Mount Carmel Medical who already operate a number of other private hospitals in Ireland.

Speaking to Community Voice, Labour Party deputy leader Joan Burton who attended the recent meeting said “I was shocked at what the HSE management had to tell me about their plans. This will mean that people in Blanchardstown will have to wait up to another three years for these basic modern diagnostic facilities.”

It would now appear that the funding plans for the new private hospital include a guaranteed income from the use of its diagnostic facilities by the public hospital. Any proposal to put an MRI scanner into the public hospital would obviously damage this projected cash flow and as a result the HSE has decided not to proceed with its plans for such a unit in the public hospital.

In a statement to Community Voice, a spokesperson for the HSE said “when Connolly Hospital identified its capital requirements for 2008/2009 an MRI scanner was not among the hospitals immediate capital priorities on the basis of the current numbers of patients presenting at the hospital for this service and the clinical requirement for hospitals to treat large volumes of patients to ensure consistent quality service provision.”

However Community Voice understands that the demand for MRI scans has increased consistently over the past number of years. Bearing in mind that the number of patient events in Connolly has increased over the past three years in by 21.77% , it is reasonable to assume that the level of diagnostic activity has also increased by a similar amount.

The last full year for which figures are available is 2006 when 1,489 patients were sent by ambulance or taxi to the Mater and Beaumont hospitals for their MRI scans. In the past few months much of this work has been diverted to the new Hermitage private clinic in Lucan.

According to Deputy Burton, “the MRI scanner which would cost less than €2m to develop in the existing hospital was promised eight to nine years ago as part of phase 1 of the hospital’s reconstruction. Then it was promised for phase 2. Now it appears it is not going to be provided in the public hospital at all. Instead it will be part of the private hospital and use of the equipment will then be hired by the public hospital. So tax payers will pay on the double for facilities that are taken for granted in most public hospitals.”

One senior source in Connolly Hospital who spoke to Community Voice said “An MRI scanner is a basic piece of equipment for any medium to big hospital in Europe. This kind of discussion only seems to take place in Ireland.” Despite the HSE assertion that “an MRI scanner was not among the hospitals immediate capital priorities” this is also disputed by this source who said “an MRI scanner has certainly been on the top of the list here in Connolly for the past 5 – 10 years.”

This is also confirmed by a statement made by the HSE to Community Voice last year when a spokesperson said “a proposal [for an MRI Scanner] has been included as a high priority for consideration within the capital programme in 2006 and 2007. The HSE is finalising its proposals in this regard and will be submitting to the Minister shortly.”

However this proposal now appears to have been rejected to facilitate the provision of a privately operated MRI scanning service by Mount Carmel Medical on the grounds of the hospital.

According to Deputy Burton, “the HSE and the Minister for Health seem hell bent on prioritising the building of a private hospital in Connolly Hospital’s grounds and running down the public hospital so as to create a demand for private care.”

Even the economics of the new proposal seem ridiculous. Community Voice understands that at present Connolly is paying approximately €200,000 per annum for private scanning. Added to this is a figure of up to €1m for the cost of ferrying patients to and from their scans and the cost of providing nursing and support personnel to accompany them on these visits. Despite the fact that the hospital is facing a budget shortfall of €3m in the current year and has to cut back on other services, the HSE is forcing it to continue to pay these additional costs for at least three years until the new private hospital is built.

According to Deputy Burton, “it seems unbelievable that vital treatment for the tens of thousands of people who use Connolly Hospital is now going to be delayed in order to provide extra business for a private hospital yet to be planned, never mind constructed, commissioned and opened.”

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