LABOUR HEALTH spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan claimed that there was public confusion about the Government's hospital co-location plans. She said that the initiative had been announced three years ago.
"Its purpose was to bring extra beds into the system. Three years later, no sod is turned on any of those hospitals," she said.
"We are now told that the banks may be holding up their development because, in spite of them being public-private partnerships, they want a guarantee that the State will ensure there is no loss of money."
Ms O'Sullivan said that the public did not understand what would happen.
"The Minister has often said that in the area of cancer, a minimum throughput of patients is needed and that we should have eight centres of excellence," she added.
"However, in all the other specialities, we will separate the private and public patients and have separate groups of doctors delivering the service."
Expressing surprise at Ms O'Sullivan's question, Minister for Health Mary Harney said that St Vincent's and the Mater hospitals in Dublin were two cancer centres with co-located facilities.
"There will be a single clinical governance on the site. Clearly, the whole purpose of the initiative is to free up approximately 1,000 beds," she added.
"In the case of these six hospitals, we are talking about 600 beds. Those 600 beds will be provided for €80 million in addition to 300 day-beds that are used for private patients, so we will get 600 in-patient beds and 300 day-beds for €80 million."
Ms Harney said they were currently getting about 230 in-patient beds for €80 million, which was "terrific" value for money.
In the main, she said, the same consultants would work in both. Under the new contract of employment, the private activity of consultants was greatly restricted.
"The idea is that the private work on fee-paying patients, who are paying themselves or through their medical insurance, would be done in the co-located facility," she added.
"The idea is that the two hospitals would complement each other. When we announced this initiative, hospitals were free to apply to participate."
Ms Harney said the idea for the initiative came from a group of consultants in a regional hospital, who had suggested to her that if they would free up the 70 beds used by private patients, they would cover them for public patients if a private facility could be built adjoining their hospital.
"When the idea was researched and analysed under the public sector benchmark, it proved it would deliver terrific value for money for the taxpayers," said Ms Harney.
In terms of the capital cost, it delivered the beds for less than 50 per cent of the cost of doing it the traditional way, she added.
Ms O'Sullivan said that consultants would now be able to sign up to three different kinds of contracts.
In addition, some consultants could opt to work entirely for private hospitals.
Ms Harney said that they had about 50 per cent of the consultants required and they would double that.
