An all-Ireland group representing specialists in lung disease have criticised the decision to cease admitting tuberculosis (TB) patients to Peamount Hospital.
Following a meeting in Dublin at the weekend, the Irish Thoracic Society (ITS) said it recognised the special role Peamount had in the control of TB.
"If Peamount is not retained, TB control will be impaired, risking the recurrence of high rates of TB," it said in a statement. It added that it was especially concerned about the emergence of "highly-infectious, dangerous, drug-resistant TB".
Describing the decision by management at Peamount to refuse to admit an infectious TB patient from the Mater Hospital last week as "a dangerous and unsafe decision", it noted the decision had consequences for other hospital patients and the public.
"We question the right of management to overrule the clinical decision to admit a patient to a publicly-funded facility when appropriate medical and nursing staff are available."
The Irish Times has been contacted by a number of hospital consultants to express their concern at the precedent set by the Peamount decision.
The ITS also reacted to a statement by Mr Robin Mullan, the CEO of Peamount Hospital, in which he said the hospital has never had a Comhairle na nOspideál-approved consultant post in respiratory medicine.
"We abhor the suggestion that Peamount did not have a consultant - the position of medical director is entirely accepted as being of consultant status," it said.
Respiratory consultants care for the majority of TB patients in Ireland. Although TB can affect a number of organs in the body, it primarily attacks the lungs. Person-to-person airborne spread of the disease can occur when a patient has open, untreated TB.
Editorial comment: page 15