The Sisters of Charity are the main shareholders of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group which the Department of Health said will be the “sole owner of the new hospital” which is planned to be built at the St Vincent’s Hospital site at Elm Park, Dublin 4

This afternoon.

Via Simon McGarr in The Gist: (full article at link below):

The Permitted Use the HSE can put the new hospital to is defined in the Lease as

“In relation to the National Maternity Hospital Area as a public hospital primarily for the provision of all clinically appropriate and legally permissible healthcare services, including research, by a maternity, gynaecology, obstetrics and neonatal hospital, and a range of related health services in the community and any other public healthcare service or services”

That creates a two step test for any use of the hospital.

1) clinically appropriate

2) legally permissible.

On Prime Time, Holles Street’s legal advisor said that she was originally very pleased at the insertion of the phrase “clinically permissible” into the agreement document and then that;

“We did not foresee that this would be taken and flipped.”

Ambiguity results in unexpected, unwanted or sometimes perverse-seeming interpretations being placed on the disputed phrases.

The Minister has said this phrase was introduced at HSE request. It can therefore be removed without damaging the deal otherwise.

It should.

Earlier: lease Of Life

The Gist: The Maternity Hospital, in brief (Simon McGarr, The Gist)