Tag Archives: St Vincent’s

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This afternoon.

The National Maternity Hospital may be built on State-owned lands following a decision of the Vatican to hand the lands at the St Vincent’s site over to St Vincents Holdings CLG.

Via The Sisters of Charity:

“Today, marks the final movement towards completion of all legal, financial and regulatory matters involved in the transfer of the Sisters’ 186-year involvement in the hospital.

In line with Canon Law, formal approval for the decision to complete the transfer of ownership was requested and was received. “

This, however, does not constitute public ownership of the site.

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortallsaid today’s development should be seen as the ‘first stage’ in a process where SVH CLG transfer ownership of the site to the State.

Ms Shorthall said:

“The new National Maternity Hospital is badly needed and it is regrettable that it is taking so long to get to a situation where this much needed project can proceed. Today’s announcement can only be seen as stage one of a process where the State can legally own this site and stage two must entail the ownership of the site transferring to State.

We also need assurances that the governance structure of the new Maternity Hospital will be fully independent and separate to the corporate structure of St Vincent’s Holdings CLG. The governance structure proposed in the Mulvey report does not provide that independence.

“It has always been patently clear that there could not be full public ownership of a hospital that was on privately owned grounds – whether religious or otherwise – and that such ownership would have significant implications for both the ethos of the hospital and the protection of the public purse.

It would be a serious error for the Government to contemplate the handing over this valuable asset and would repeat the mistakes of the past where taxpayer funded health and education infrastructure is gifted to private interests.”

Meanwhile, could  savings be passed on to the victims of the Sisters of Charity?

Sisters of Charity ‘gift’ St Vincent’s to State (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

St Vincent’s University Hospital Nutley wing

St Vincent’s Hospital, Merrion Road, Dublin 4

kirkbadaz writes:

My father in law has been a guest of St Vincents University Hospital since Monday, he’s in one of the new Nutley Wing rooms.

Today we discovered human excrement in corner of the bathroom by the window. It’s been there since before he was admitted. Today is Saturday. Hospital staff have been informed.

Nothing done yet at time of writing. Also there are been creepy handprints on the doors of the lifts in the 2nd floor of the same wing. Directly in front of the nurses’ station I might add. Shower is also broken in his room.

No sign of him leaving any time soon. My guess though, is he’ll be gone before the shit is cleaned up…

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Model of the new National Maternity Hospital

Patsy McGarry, in The Irish Times, reports:

A religious congregation which has failed to date to provide its share of funds to a redress scheme for institutional abuse victims, is to be given ownership of the new €300 million State-funded National Maternity Hospital.

The Sisters of Charity are the 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 to be built on a site at Elm Park in south Dublin.

The relocation of the hospital from Holles Street to the St Vincent’s hospital campus involves the largest single investment ever made in maternity services in the State.

A department spokesman said the “autonomy of the national maternity hospital board will be underpinned by reserved powers to ensure clinical and operational independence, and the Minister for Health will hold the power to protect those reserved powers”.

Sisters of Charity to be given new National Maternity Hospital (Irish Times)

Previously: ‘In The Interests Of Patient Safety’

Puzzling

Pic: Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

keyes

Thanks Garthicus

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Alanna Kennedy tweetz:

Lunch at St Vincents University Hospital. Given to a patient who is IMMUNE SUPPRESSED. Utterly disgraceful & no wonder I’m not getting well!

Further to this…

Aleesha Tully tweetz:

Can anyone identify what this person was served for lunch at Vincent’s Hospital today? Answers on a postcard @SimonHarrisTD

Anyone?

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From top: Editorial in yesterday’s Sunday Times, and Professor Chris Fitzpatrick, former master of the Coombe hospital

You may recall the plans to move the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street to a site next to St Vincent’s University Hospital so that they can share a campus in Elm Park, Dublin.

Well.

Yesterday the Sunday Times reported that the Religious Sisters of Charity-owned St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG) is demanding that the National Maternity Hospital agrees to “become a branch of its corporate structure” before allowing the planned co-location to go ahead.

Further to this, Professor and consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin Chris Fitzpatrick, spoke to Keelin Shanley on Today with Seán O’Rourke.

During their discussion, Professor Fitzpatrick said:

“I think that in terms of St Vincent’s Hospital, in the interests of patient safety that, in the context of co-location that the National Maternity Hospital should remain a clinical and corporate entity. Now there are huge advantages in relation to St Vincent’s Hospital taking on board the National Maternity Hospital, in terms of providing the full range of comprehensive care, from birth right through to old age. I think they are huge advantages in terms of the research, education and training synergies. But in the interest of patient safety, and with the greatest respect St Vincent’s Hospital do not have a track record in providing maternity and neonatal services, I think in the interest of patient safety that the National Maternity Hospital should be in a position to retain its corporate and clinical governance structures. In the interest of patient safety and I think that is the, that is to the forefront of all of these considerations.”

“…There’s been a long track record of underinvestment and de-prioritisation of services for mothers and babies. Moving into a big adult complex, healthcare complex, where there are competitive demands, I think it is really important that decisions made in relation to care being provided for mothers and babies are made by those who are best equipped to make those decisions…and these cases have been highlighted in the media recently.”

There are also increasing ethical considerations that need to be taken into account in relation to complex issues in pregnancy. And I think, in the interest of mothers, that those decisions at a clinical and corporate level are best taken by those who have a long experience in making those decisions and providing those services… and that experience does not exist in general hospitals.”

“In relation to gynaecology services, where women are accessing gynaecology services in general hospitals, in Vincent’s, in James’s, in the Mater, because of competitive demands,  many women are now actually moving from those hospitals into the maternity hospitals simply because of the fact that these services have been de-prioritised on the adult services.”

“…This project is ready to go to planning. I think the taxpayer and also mothers and women will not tolerate business issues bogging down a process that should be accelerated.”

Listen back in full here

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This afternoon.

St Vincent’s Hospital, Merrion road,, Dublin

A lunchtime protest against staffing levels and overcrowding in the hospital’s emergency department organised by INMO and attended by AAA/PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett (above).

St Vincent’s management are accused of ignoring agreed proposals from the Workplace Relations Commission which had averted a nationwide nurse’s strike.

INMO stage one-hour protest over St Vincent’s Hospital staff shortages (RTÉ)


Sam Boal/Rollingnews

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From top: Eurosurgical Limited; Noel Bergin, supply chain co-ordinator at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital; an invoice for a holiday to Florida for Mr Bergin and his family sent to Eurosurgical; Alan Kane, of Eurosurgical; David Byrne, contracts manager at St Vincent’s Hospital.

Last night, on Prime Time, Paul Murphy, from the RTE Investigations Unit, reported that some senior hospital staff at St Vincent’s Hospital and Beacon Hospital have received expensive holidays and gifts from Dublin surgical supply firm, Eurosurgical Limited – which is part owned by Alan Kane.

Alan Kane is also Eurosurgical’s sales director.

Noel Bergin is the supply chain co-ordinator at the Beacon Hospital.

Prime Time reported that, last August, Mr Bergin, his partner and three children went to Florida on a two-week holiday and an invoice for the holiday – amounting to €7,750 – was sent by a travel agent directly to Eurosurgical Limited.

RTE also showed emails sent by Alan Kane, referring to Mr Bergin as ‘my man.’

A lawyer for Mr Bergin told Prime Time:

“Our client was not offered and did not accept a gift…our client paid in full for the holiday in the sum of €5,000. Eurosurgical Limited had no involvement in the matter save that Mr [Alan] Kane introduced him to the travel agent…[Mr Bergin] paid Alan Kane €5,000 in cash for the holiday for transmission to the travel agent.”

In a statement, Eurosurgical told RTE the travel agents are “close personal friends” of the Kane family – which owns Eurosurgical – and that…

“…This enabled them to get the benefit of the travel agent’s purchasing power and thereby better rates than those available to the general public. Typically the travel agent invoiced Eurosurgical Limited whom the individual would then reimburse.”

It also said it would be seeking the balance of the holiday – which actually cost €8,840 – from Mr Bergin.

Meanwhile, Prime Time also alleged that some hospital staff have passed on sensitive information to Mr Kane.

Last April, Mr Kane emailed  David Byrne, contracts manager at St Vincent’s Hospital, asking him for a breakdown of John Bannon Limited’s sales to St Vincent’s.  John Bannon Limited is one of Eurosurgical’s main competitors:

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After obtaining the figures for 11 months’ worth of sales, and forwarding them to his Hotmail address, Mr Byrne then forwarded the figures from his Hotmail account to Alan Kane.

A lawyer for Eurosurgical told Prime Time, the sharing of competitor information by hospitals is an “open and widely acknowledged practice” that is the “current industry norm”.

RTE also reported that, in June 2014, Mr Byrne emailed Mr Kane, from his Hotmail account, telling him about an impending order.

In the same email Mr Byrne asked Mr Kane for a €500 shopping  voucher:

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Mr Byrne didn’t respond to requests for a comment from RTE but Eurosurgical Limited said the shopping voucher was for a spot prize for the St Vincent’s Golfing Society and that the voucher was actually for €50, not €500 but “was never furnished”.

Prime Time also reported that Mr Byrne went on a four-day trip to Fota Island in Cork and Eurosurgical Limited paid for the trip – with Mr Byrne sending Mr Kane an invoice for the trip, from his Hotmail account.

In the email, Mr Byrne states he will “issue a PO to sort”. PO means a purchasing order.

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Mr Byrne again refused to speak to RTE in relation to this holiday but Eurosurgical told Prime Time it did pay for it because Mr Byrne told it that he was “under a lot of pressure and would like a break”. Eurosurgical also said Mr Byrne later wrote a cheque to Eurosurgical to pay for the holiday but that the cheque was never cashed.

Watch Prime Time back in full here

Hospitals to investigate allegations over gifts (RTE)