Leaked Report Reveals Children’s Private Patients Prioritised Over Public in CHI
A leaked EY report on Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) reveals consultants prioritise private patients, causing public child patients to wait significantly longer for critical surgeries. TD Paul Murphy highlighted discrepancies, calling for the report's publication and an end to private healthcare in CHI. The government acknowledged the issue, citing efforts to ensure equitable treatment through public-only consultant contracts.
A leaked EY report on Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), commissioned by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, indicates that hospital consultants are prioritising private patients over public ones. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy revealed details in the Dáil, stating that children needing urology surgery wait up to a year longer if they lack private health insurance.
The report cites a urology consultant with 20 public child patients waiting an average of 12.4 months, compared to 10 private patients waiting 1.84 months. For spinal patients, only 9 out of 22 (41%) were treated within clinically recommended timeframes, with 59% experiencing delays, some for several months, and a median delay of 143 days. An orthopaedic consultant showed average waiting times of 8.7 months for public paediatric patients versus two months for private patients.
Murphy called for the report's immediate publication, arguing that private healthcare should not exist within CHI, especially with private suites being built in the new national children’s hospital. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke, responding for the Government, stated he had not seen the report but affirmed the Minister for Health’s commitment to ensuring equity of treatment and taking action, citing her success with public-only consultant contracts. He noted that almost 70% of consultants now work on public-only contracts, which are improving services, such as additional scans and weekend theatre operations.