NOEL J. COLLINS,
Sir, - It was reported last week that some hospitals were judged to be inefficient and as punishment were named and shamed. The penalty was to have their budgets reduced and the amount involved given over to the efficient hospitals. This cannot be allowed to pass without comment.
It is not the hospitals that are inefficient, but those who are supposed to manage them. In the real world, managers who do not perform as expected, have their knuckles rapped and could be demoted.
There must be real competition in the hospital service and a level playing-pitch between public and private hospitals. It is only through real competition that standards will rise, costs be reduced and customer satisfaction achieved. Monopoly leads only to restrictive practices, high costs and inadequate customer service. - Yours, etc.,
NOEL J. COLLINS, Firgrove Lawn, Bishopstown, Cork.