THE HSE HAS issued a new tender to secure capacity in private hospitals to cope with any future surge of Covid-19, and its impact on the public health system. 

It wants to create a panel of private hospitals to offer additional healthcare capacity, after the three-month arrangement with private hospitals at the onset of the crisis came to an end in June.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, a Department of Health spokesperson said private hospitals had indicated their support to support the HSE “in the event of a further surge of Covid-19 cases” and expressed their preference for bilateral deals with private providers.

However, Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane has said that while this capacity may be needed in the short term, it shouldn’t mean that we become reliant on private capacity to support the public system.

Consultants had warned the previous deal – which saw the government pay private hospitals to use all of their facilities during the Covid-19 crisis – was a “bad deal” for taxpayers. Then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar agreed that €115 million a month was an accurate estimated cost to the State under this arrangement.

That deal was made to secure capacity in the health service in the event cases of Covid-19 in Ireland overwhelmed the public system. 

The HSE is also looking at how it can address the shortfall in its current capacity due to distancing requirements ahead of the busy winter ahead, and this tender is one part of the process of increasing this capacity.

While much of the capacity in private hospitals was not used, it has been warned that there will be heavy strain on the health service in the coming months. 

Arrangement

Under this new arrangement from the HSE, private providers who qualify to be on the panel can then apply to provide additional services when the HSE says it needs them.

It will require services from private providers for public patients across adult day case services, adult in-patient services, adult out-patient services, paediatric day case services, paediatric in-patient and paediatric out-patient services. 

A separate requirement will see a panel made up of providers in the following areas: radiology MRI, radiology CT, radiology ultrasound, radiology x-ray, radiology dexa, cardiology and pulmonary function/spirometry.

The healthcare provided must be by a consultant-led team and, in some instances, the HSE said the private provider may discharge patients to rehab/immediate care/nursing homes for post-treatment care. 

The private providers will need to show they have the capacity to meet the requirements of the HSE in order to progress onto the panel and be awarded a contract. 

The HSE also emphasised that being put on this panel doesn’t guarantee any business will be given to this private provider, but will be utilised as and when it’s needed.

It is anticipated the panel will be formed and operational as soon as possible with a deadline of 31 August to apply. 

In explaining the rationale behind this process, the Department of Health spokesperson said that discussions had been held with the Private Hospitals Association (PHA) regarding the use of their facilities should there be a further surge of Covid-19.

“The PHA indicated that they were prepared to support the State in the event of a further surge of Covid-19 cases,” the department spokesperson said.

The PHA has told the HSE that the most efficient way to secure additional capacity from the private hospitals in the event of a second wave is through “bilateral agreements with individual private hospitals or hospital groups”.

The spokesperson added: “The HSE is currently refining its requirements in relation to securing capacity and services to compensate for the shortfall in capacity in public hospitals, due to the safety guidelines developed in line with the NPHET Expert Advisory Group’s recommendations.

As part of a wider strategy to address this shortfall the HSE is in the process of tendering for services in the private hospitals. In relation to scheduled care the NTPF has resumed its operations with a view to obtaining increased capacity to deal with waiting list activity.

The Private Hospitals Association has expressed its support of this approach. 

A spokesperson told TheJournal.ie: “PHA is fully supportive of the requirement by the HSE to have access to additional private capacity in the event of a second surge of Covid-19 here.

“The individual member hospitals of the Association are currently in negotiations with the HSE with a view to providing the additional capacity as and when required. This new bilateral approach would provide greater flexibility for all concerned and has the capacity to operate on a regional and local basis as necessary while still ensuring a high quality service delivery.”

Sinn Féin’s Cullinane, however, said that while we may need to leverage private capacity in the short term, it shouldn’t be seen as an “easy way out”.

“We need to invest in beds, community facilities and modular units,” he told TheJournal.ie. “Relying on the private sector is an acknowledgment we don’t have the capacity. The upcoming few months will be very busy for healthcare workers and they really needed to be supported with all the resources possible.”