Consultants at a Dublin hospital were told earlier this year they were seeing too many patients and should reduce the numbers. The move was prompted by a shortage of clerical staff at James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show hospital services were suffering because there were too few staff to keep patients' files up to date.
In January the Medical Board of the hospital heard it could take up to six months to get a letter typed. In April consultants complained that at a recent clinic as many as 25 per cent of files were unavailable.
"We note your suggestion to cut back our clinics, but this seems to us to provide a worse service rather than a better service to our patients with an inevitable lengthening of the waiting list," Dr Conor Burke told the hospital manager, Mr Tom Gorey.
Mr Gorey wrote back to say consultants were seeing more patients than had been agreed and were "contributing significantly to the problem".
"I must now insist that you make the necessary arrangements to confine your clinics to the agreed numbers," he wrote. Asked if patient numbers had been reduced, the Northern Area Health Board said discussions had taken place between management and unions in relation to the preparation of charts, and it was agreed to assign additional clerical staff to the outpatients. The problem had been resolved.
St James's Hospital in Dublin has obtained permission for seven clinical trials on psychiatric patients in the past three years, and St Luke's, Clonmel, for six, according to Fine Gael's deputy health spokesman, Mr Dan Neville TD.
Hospitals which got approval for more than one trial include St Ita's, Portrane, St Patrick's, and James Connolly Memorial in Dublin and St Stephen's, Glanmire, Cork.
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