Consultants at Cork's two largest voluntary hospitals have expressed their opposition to a plan to build a private co-located hospital on the grounds of Cork University Hospital, saying that it will not lead to the best care for the people Cork and Munster.
Paul Sweeney, chair of the consultant medical board at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) and Dr Neil O'Donovan, chair of the consultant medical board at the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) have both expressed opposition to the co-located plan.
Private hospital developer Beacon Medical Group has applied for planning permission for a €250 million private hospital in the grounds of Cork University Hospital in Wilton under the Government's co-location scheme.
However, Mr Sweeney and Dr O'Donovan expressed their opposition in a joint statement, saying that the voluntary hospitals had a long tradition of meeting the acute needs of people in the region and offer a balanced public/ private patient mix.
"The private facility at CUH would impact on this balance, thereby reinforcing the two-tier system," said the two consultants, adding that an alternative model of acute hospital-based healthcare was available through the planned merger of both the MUH and SIVUH.
Both MUH chief executive officer Pat Madden and SIVUH counterpart Ger O'Callaghan said the ambitious plans for a new hospital being discussed by a joint steering group offered huge potential for healthcare in Cork.
In the interim, they said, it would be possible to develop the existing hospitals to provide cancer care and other services that fit with national policy.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin has already expressed his opposition to the Beacon Medical Group plan for Wilton, saying that he did not believe it was sustainable on planning grounds, given the volume of traffic it would generate in an already congested Wilton.