Private hospitals to boost public service capacity in Ireland
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《英国医生杂志》
Ireland is to get 1000 additional hospital beds for public health service patients by building private hospitals on public hospital sites. The move is designed to partially fill an acknowledged 3000 bed deficit in the public hospital system, and Mary Harney, the minister for health, said that private investors would receive tax incentives to build the new hospitals.
Ireland has a mixed public and private heath system, with 30% of the 4 million population entitled to free health care. The remainder either pay for health care or are covered by three private health insurance companies. Patients face increasing delays in emergency departments, however, because of a shortage of public hospital beds.
The government hopes that the new initiative will mean that patients with private health insurance will in future be treated in the new private facilities, thereby freeing up beds in adjacent public hospitals that are presently designated for private use.
Private investors, who are likely to include hospital consultants, will have their proposals benchmarked against an assessment framework that includes governance, risk assessment, and quality markers.
Announcing the initiative, Ms Harney said that it would "create new beds for public patients in the fastest and most cost effective way" in a five year period. She acknowledged that the mix of public and private patients within public hospitals had given rise to health care inequities.
The proposal, which will trigger a change in contract for certain categories of hospital consultant, has been criticised by the Health Services Action Group, a lobby group for improved public hospital services, and the Irish Medical Organisation.
John Barton, chairman of the action group said, "These beds will not equate to the private beds to be replaced in public hospitals, unless the private hospital provides 24 hour emergency care, which is not intended." He said an analysis of public-private partnerships in the United Kingdom, done by Allyson Pollock of St George抯 Healthcare NHS Trust, had shown that hospitals built by the private sector for the NHS will cost taxpayers more than if the government has borrowed the capital itself.
The president of the Irish Medical Organisation, Asam Ishtiaq, said, "This plan alone cannot deal with the chronic overcrowding which currently affects our hospitals. Capital allowances for private hospitals are a poor use of taxpayers?money. Priority should be given to the building of public capacity."(Galway Muiris Houston)
Ireland has a mixed public and private heath system, with 30% of the 4 million population entitled to free health care. The remainder either pay for health care or are covered by three private health insurance companies. Patients face increasing delays in emergency departments, however, because of a shortage of public hospital beds.
The government hopes that the new initiative will mean that patients with private health insurance will in future be treated in the new private facilities, thereby freeing up beds in adjacent public hospitals that are presently designated for private use.
Private investors, who are likely to include hospital consultants, will have their proposals benchmarked against an assessment framework that includes governance, risk assessment, and quality markers.
Announcing the initiative, Ms Harney said that it would "create new beds for public patients in the fastest and most cost effective way" in a five year period. She acknowledged that the mix of public and private patients within public hospitals had given rise to health care inequities.
The proposal, which will trigger a change in contract for certain categories of hospital consultant, has been criticised by the Health Services Action Group, a lobby group for improved public hospital services, and the Irish Medical Organisation.
John Barton, chairman of the action group said, "These beds will not equate to the private beds to be replaced in public hospitals, unless the private hospital provides 24 hour emergency care, which is not intended." He said an analysis of public-private partnerships in the United Kingdom, done by Allyson Pollock of St George抯 Healthcare NHS Trust, had shown that hospitals built by the private sector for the NHS will cost taxpayers more than if the government has borrowed the capital itself.
The president of the Irish Medical Organisation, Asam Ishtiaq, said, "This plan alone cannot deal with the chronic overcrowding which currently affects our hospitals. Capital allowances for private hospitals are a poor use of taxpayers?money. Priority should be given to the building of public capacity."(Galway Muiris Houston)