Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals have been singled out for their failure to refer patients to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, writes Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent
The fund can arrange for patients waiting more than a year to be treated within weeks in private hospitals in the Republic and the UK.
The director of the fund, Ms Maureen Lynott, said yesterday the fund had "problems" with Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals.
Only 54 of 809 so-called "long-waiters" in Tallaght had been referred for treatment by the fund, while Beaumont has referred 114 of its 659 "long-waiters".
In contrast, the Mater Hospital has referred 439 of its patients for treatment under the fund.
Ms Lynott said Beaumont and Tallaght were the hospitals about which the fund got most calls.
"We are not in the business of trying to beat up anybody. Our concern is that patients from those two hospitals would be disadvantaged," she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Lynott confirmed the fund, which has a budget this year of €31 million, still has major problems getting referrals for UK hospitals. To date only 25 patients have been treated in the UK under the fund. It had been hoped 800 patients would have been treated in this way by the end of last month.
Hospital consultants have concerns about such referrals, and some also have concerns that the fund's money isn't being pumped into public hospitals.
However, Ms Lynott said patients are able and willing to travel for procedures such as cataracts, hernias, plastic surgery and varicose veins. All patients' expenses will be covered, and arrangements will be made for a family member to travel with them.
In an attempt to overcome the lack of UK referrals, the fund is now asking GPs to refer consenting patients directly to UK consultants through the fund.
A special pre-operative assessment will be carried out if necessary at the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin, and this clinic will also provide post-operative care if required.
"We can't clear the list on time if we just rely on Irish capacity," Ms Lynott said.
The Treatment Purchase Fund Scheme was set up by Government to remove adults waiting more than a year and children waiting more than six months for treatment from waiting lists.
When it began its work some 8,305 patients across the State were found to fall into this category. To date 3,041 have been dealt with. "Commonly, these patients have been waiting two to three years. Some, albeit less common, have been waiting five, six and seven years," Ms Lynott said.