HEALTH INSURANCE: In a move set to benefit patients with private health insurance who are living in the west, north-west and south-west, Vhi Healthcare announced yesterday it will provide cover for members at the new Galway Clinic being opened at a cost of €100 million.
Developed by Mr James Sheehan, the orthopaedic surgeon and medical entrepreneur, the 124-bedded clinic on the outskirts of Galway city will provide a full range of out patient and in patient services.
"In particular, it means that on average, more than 350 of our members from the west who need radiotherapy treatment for cancer each year do not now have to travel to Dublin, as the Galway Clinic is fully equipped to provide this vital service," Mr Vincent Sheridan, chief executive of Vhi Healthcare said last night.
It will also provide full cardiothoracic services to members including open heart bypass surgery, he added.
Scheduled to open for admissions from June 29th, the Galway Clinic will provide a range of services including orthopaedic, general surgery and gastroenterology. Day care facilities will include diagnostic areas for endoscopic examinations, oncology treatment areas for chemotherapy patients, and the first therapeutic radiotherapy service for cancer patients in the west.
Until now patients from the region requiring radiotherapy for cancer and those needing cardiac bypass surgery were obliged to travel to either Cork or Dublin for treatment.
"We are very pleased to have reached agreement with the Vhi. It makes the hospital accessible to all their subscribers from Plan B to Plan E. We are also at an advanced stage in negotiations with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to do a large amount of work for public patients," Mr Sheehan told The Irish Times.
It is understood negotiations with the State's other private health insurer, BUPA Ireland, are ongoing.
Vhi Plan B and C members admitted to the Galway Clinic will be covered in full for semi-private and private medical admissions and non high-tech procedures, with 90 per cent benefit payable for fixed price high-tech procedures. Members with Plans D or E will be covered in full at the new facility.