The HSE is in talks with some medical consultants about the State covering the cost of rent for their rooms in private hospitals, the Department of Health has said.
The move represents a new attempt to resolve the impasse over the Government’s plans to have private sector consultants treat public patients during the current Covid-19 crisis.
The State has already in effect taken over nearly 20 private hospitals for a three-month period to provide it with additional bed, theatre and diagnostic capacity. However, this arrangement did not cover about 600 private medical specialists who practise in these facilities.
The Department of Health said it was looking at an arrangement that could see the HSE fund the private rooms of consultants, if required, to provide care to public patients.
“We expect to conclude these discussions this week,” the Department of Health said.
‘Flexibility’
A separate Department of Health note, seen by The Irish Times, said: “We have provided the HSE with the flexibility in exceptional circumstances to meet clinical need and where it represents value for money to enter into arrangement with consultants to rent private rooms. HSE advise that they are engaging with some individuals on this.”
The issue of private rooms has been a stumbling block in the bid by the Government to secure agreement with private sector consultants to sign a contract to see only public patients during the coronavirus crisis.
The Government has offered the doctors a temporary locum contract with salaries ranging from €141,000 to €195,000.
However, consultants argue that given they would have to continue incurring the costs of renting their facilities in private hospitals and paying for support staff, their practices could become unviable in the absence of income from fee-paying patients.
About 150 private sector medical consultants are understood to have signed up to the State public-only contract for the duration of the crisis.
