UHG clinical director's private business interests impacting public MRI waiting list

Madame Razz

Think it would be unfortunate for the article below to slip by because of bad weather/water shortages etc.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/16761-galways-public-hospital-boss-owns-private-mri-facility

Galway's public hospital boss owns private MRI facility
December 23, 2010 - 8:18am
Clinical Director is stakeholder in partnership leasing medical imaging centre site

By Darragh McDonagh

The Clinical Director of Galway’s public hospitals has been called on to consider his position after it emerged that he is a stakeholder in a private MRI Imaging Centre that has an exclusive agreement with the HSE to provide services to Galway University Hospitals (GUH).

Dr David O’Keeffe has been accused of having an untenable conflict of interests after the Connacht Tribune revealed that he is a partner in a private medical imaging centre located on public land within the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital.

A HSE spokesperson this week confirmed that Dr O’Keeffe made a declaration regarding his private practice interests relating to Merlin Park Imaging Centre and continuing practice at Bon Secours Hospital prior to his appointment as Clinical Director for acute services and continuing care in Galway and Roscommon.

Records show that he signed an agreement with the regional health authority in 2003 that restricts Galway’s two public hospitals from using the services of any other private medical imaging provider other than the one of which he is a partner.

The lucrative contract was awarded to Dr O’Keeffe and eight other medical professionals calling themselves the Merlin Park Radiology Group without a competitive tendering process contrary to current public procurement guidelines.

The agreement means that the Clinical Director of Galway’s public hospitals inadvertently benefits from an inability to cut waiting lists for medical imaging scans because public patients are referred to his group’s private facility at the expense of the taxpayer if they are left waiting for a sufficiently long period.

There were more than 1,860 people awaiting an MRI scan for up to 18 months at University Hospital Galway (UHG) at the end of last year, while a further 1,700 were waiting to have an ultrasound.
Public patients in Galway can expect to wait 15 months for an MRI scan at present, but if a patient can afford to pay around €500 at Dr O’Keeffe’s private imaging centre, they can undergo a scan and have results within 24 hours.

There is only one public MRI scanner in Galway, located at UHG, but this is not utilised at full capacity despite calls from members of the Regional Health Forum as far back as 2008 to extend its operating hours.

There are three private MRI scanners located in Galway but the city’s public hospitals are restricted from using the services of any private facility other than Dr O’Keeffe’s by virtue of the agreement.

Cllr Colm Keaveney, a member of the Regional Health Forum, has called on the Clinical Director to consider his position in light of the revelation and accused John Hennessy, HSE regional director of operations, of protecting Dr O’Keeffe by declining to answer a question on the matter last month.

“There is a blatant and untenable conflict of interests whereby the Clinical Director has a vested interest in ensuring that the public health system fails,” he said.

The land at Merlin Park on which the imaging centre is situated is leased to Dr O’Keeffe’s group for less than €180 a week. The bill for utilities such as telephone and electricity, as well as access to a multi-million euro IT system, is footed by the taxpayer.

Read more in this week's Connacht Tribune

Those working there benefit from a tidy bonus scheme based on patient numbers also.

Pretty awful tbh:mad:

forumfiend

Madame Razz wrote: »

Pretty awful tbh:mad:

Couldn't agree more. A lot of the consultants appointed in the last couple of years are on public-only contracts, but what the longer-established guys are allowed to get away with is a national disgrace. They are paid €200k+ by the HSE, yet they are allowed to spend huge amounts of time seeing private patients in the Bon Secours and Galway Clinic. Fair play to the Turbine - and Madame Razz - for bringing this out into the open. :mad::mad::mad:

inisboffin

That's fcuking criminal!
18 months wait?? Jesus!

dilallio

And guess what ...

The same guy is a member of the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Irish Medical Council ( https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/What-we-do/The-Medical-Council/Dr-David-O'Keeffe.html )

This could only happen in Ireland :mad:

Madame Razz

The whole public/private practise debate regarding consultants is a separate issue tbh. The 'gentleman' in the article is clinical director of one of the largest hospitals in the country, a so-called 'centre of excellence', and here he has been shown to have engineered a 'jobs for the boys' contract for a company he has substantial interest in, a company whose running costs are in some ways accounted for by taxpayers money, a contract which essentially hampers the wait for any public patient requiring an MRI, or else pay an exorbitant fee for it themselves???

The fitness to practise committee should look into Dr o Keeffe's own fitness to practise tbh. Such blatant abuse of his position shouldn't be tolerated, even in THIS particular, gone to the dogs, banana republic!!

seriouslysweet

What is the issue with someone trying to accomadate patients getting seen quickly?

Madame Razz

seriouslysweet wrote: »

What is the issue with someone trying to accomadate patients getting seen quickly?

Nothing. But this isn't the case. As a result of the exclusivity agreement, public patients face a wait of at least 15months if they cannot afford to pay to have the scan done privately(which costs 500euro btw)

the_syco

seriouslysweet wrote: »

What is the issue with someone trying to accomadate patients getting seen quickly?

Do you pay any tax at all? Your tax is paying his wage. The longer he gets people to wait, the more it benefits him, as they'll be forced to hand over €500 if they need the MRI badly enough. "Public patients in Galway can expect to wait 15 months" for public equipment that is "not utilised at full capacity despite calls from members of the Regional Health Forum as far back as 2008 to extend its operating hours."

The land at Merlin Park on which the imaging centre is situated is leased to Dr O’Keeffe’s group for less than €180 a week. The bill for utilities such as telephone and electricity, as well as access to a multi-million euro IT system, is footed by the taxpayer.

The same taxpayer that has to pay €500 to use the facilities.

As Cllr Colm Keaveney says: “There is a blatant and untenable conflict of interests whereby the Clinical Director has a vested interest in ensuring that the public health system fails”.

So yes, the issue is that you either wait 15 months for a MRI, or, pay €500 to the same surgeons, in a pretty much rent free (€180 a week, just over a third of one procedure) and bill free hospital next door.

Because of this, there is no reason why they would even try to get things moving more efficient.

Seaneh

This is actually sickening.

seriouslysweet

No cos I'm 17 but my parents do.

alibabba

Merlin Park Radiology Group
I wonder who else is on this group (consultants?)

I ask this question because of an incident recently ...

I required a MRI scan. I was fully covered for this in the Galway Clinic yet my doc insisted I have it done in Merlin Park, explaining that the scan was not available in the clinic.

I rang the Galway Clinic and asked them why so. They told me to get the exact detail of scan. When I did & told them they said this was available in the clinic.

I went back to my doc about this. He still insisted I have the MRI in Merlin, so I had to pay the 300 euro.

forumfiend

alibabba wrote: »

I went back to my doc about this. He still insisted I have the MRI in Merlin, so I had to pay the 300 euro.

it probably depends on what "group" your consultant belongs to. A different consultant would probably have insisted on you having it done in the Galway Clinic.

alibabba

Jasus it stinks bad.

Maserati23

Well done OP. This should be a sticky for a day or so. Bye bye Harney, with any luck.:rolleyes:

Simarillion

I think this is just the Connaught Tribune sensationalising minor details that some reporter wants to make a headline with. The doctor in question is a radiologist, there are not very many radiologists in Galway. All scans performed must be read by a radiologist, therefore any radiologist in Galway has vested interest in any Imaging Centre.

I don't think that just because David O'Keefe is associated with both, means he is deliberately slowing down the process in UHG. It wouldn't make sense to do so. People on private health insurance will have their scans done privately at the Clinic and everyone else won't be able to afford the €500 anyway!

One of the main reasons the UHG waiting list is so longs because they only have one MRI scanner and cannot afford another.

biko

Simarillion wrote: »

One of the main reasons the UHG waiting list is so longs because they only have one MRI scanner and cannot afford another.

Even if they could he has forbidden it. Only his can be used.

Records show that he signed an agreement with the regional health authority in 2003 that restricts Galway’s two public hospitals from using the services of any other private medical imaging provider other than the one of which he is a partner.

forumfiend

Simarillion wrote: »

I think this is just the Connaught Tribune sensationalising minor details that some reporter wants to make a headline with.

Probably an element of that alright but just going on the facts as presented (assuming they are facts), it doesn't look good for the director of a hospital with a chronic waiting list to be the part-owner of a company that benefits from the waiting list being so long.

As for the exclusivity agreement, that doesn't look good either and you would have to ask why the HSE (or was it the WHB back in 2003?) agreed to such a deal.

Madame Razz

forumfiend wrote: »

Probably an element of that alright but just going on the facts as presented (assuming they are facts), it doesn't look good for the director of a hospital with a chronic waiting list to be the part-owner of a company that benefits from the waiting list being so long.

As for the exclusivity agreement, that doesn't look good either and you would have to ask why the HSE (or was it the WHB back in 2003?) agreed to such a deal.

Exactly. Even if you take away the media sensationalist element of this, it is still pretty disgraceful, and also quite lacking in ethics, on the part of the doctor in question here, and on the part of the HSE.

Wompa1

Wow that's shocking. Although I know a guy who is working for the university and has his own private business as well in which there seems to be a big conflict of interest.. My guess would be that public sector workers can and will pull the wool up over peoples eyes easier than someone who just has their own business from the off.

Sad but true.

dissed doc

Simarillion wrote: »

I don't think that just because David O'Keefe is associated with both, means he is deliberately slowing down the process in UHG. It wouldn't make sense to do so.

The issue isn't around what he is doing with regard to running a private company to supply services based on a public contract - it's that in his capacity as director he has forbidden any open public tender for any competition to arise. If another group offered identical services for half price, the hospital would be unable to do so because the director has guaranteed the contract.

Not much different to someone selling off gas to a single company without any public consultation. I fully support private enterprise; this radiology group exist because of communist-style private tendering of public resources.

forumfiend

dissed doc wrote: »

it's that in his capacity as director he has forbidden any open public tender for any competition to arise.

No open public tender for any competition? If it's true, surely that can't be legal?

dissed doc wrote: »

If another group offered identical services for half price, the hospital would be unable to do so because the director has guaranteed the contract.

Maybe it's just the way you've phrased it but I'm not sure I understand. The MRI contract was awarded in 2003 but Dr. O'Keeffe only became director this year.

Simarillion

I have two issues with what appears to be a growing witch-hunt against David O'Keefe

(1) Dr. O'Keefe made this agreement with HSE West in 2003. 7 years later, he is promoted to Clinical Director of UHG. He did not suddenly upon promotion, abuse his new found powers to personally benefit from the HSE. He also declared this interest in the centre before accepting his promotion

(2) Cllr. Keaveney is horrified it wasn't put to tender. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but how to you put MRI scanning to tender? It's not like a construction contract, there aren't several groups with MRI scanners sitting in warehouses waiting for the highest bidder! There are 4: UHG, Galway Clinic, Bon Secours and The Merlin Park Imaging Centre


If you examine the Merlin Park Imaging Groups page you will see that the consultants involved are ALL of the radiological and imaging consultants in the city. The centre provides scanners capable of accommodating obese patients and eliminating the claustrophobia effect.
They open from 8am - 8pm which is far longer thank UHG and that is not because the consultants are sitting in one or the other.

I think this is an attempt to clear up the waiting lists in UHG for people who can afford too or are covered by insurance and shorten the waiting lists for those who have to use the public services

I don't think it is some sort of underlying conspiracy by Galway radiologists.

seriouslysweet

Thanks for what was said above, I didn't have the words to say it as am too upset over this whole witchhunt, how narrowminded can people be? I really feel in this country, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.

Mrs OBumble

Simarillion wrote: »

(2) Cllr. Keaveney is horrified it wasn't put to tender. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but how to you put MRI scanning to tender? It's not like a construction contract, there aren't several groups with MRI scanners sitting in warehouses waiting for the highest bidder! There are 4: UHG, Galway Clinic, Bon Secours and The Merlin Park Imaging Centre

Actually, there are several groups with MRI scanners who could bid for access to publicly-funded patients. You've identified some, I'll wager there are others in Limerick and Dublin as well: depending on the price, it may well be cheaper to transport patients to some of them.

It would be quite easy and normal for this sort of contract to be tendered, and for the contract that's awarded to be for a fixed term. Do we know how long the current contract has to run?

My first every job was in the Department of Health (not in Ireland, but I'm sure similar principles apply). The biggest thing I learned is that in health issues, there's only a weak relationship between the facts and what's reported in the papers. I don't think we can tell whether this is a beat-up, or if there's actually even more corruption going on than is being reported.

forumfiend

Simarillion wrote: »

I have two issues with what appears to be a growing witch-hunt against David O'Keefe

(1) Dr. O'Keefe made this agreement with HSE West in 2003.

I made the same point as you did about Dr. O'Keeffe only being recently appointed and questioned the statement that he had banned all tender competion. Just because one person made a couple of wild-ish assertions doesn't make it a witch-hunt.

Simarillion wrote: »

(2) Cllr. Keaveney is horrified it wasn't put to tender. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but how to you put MRI scanning to tender? It's not like a construction contract, there aren't several groups with MRI scanners sitting in warehouses waiting for the highest bidder! There are 4: UHG, Galway Clinic, Bon Secours and The Merlin Park Imaging Centre

If it was possible to tender for e-voting machines and speed cameras, I don't see how it couldn't be possible to tender for an MRI service. As JustMary pointed out, you've identified some possible bidders yourself!

Simarillion wrote: »

I don't think it is some sort of underlying conspiracy by Galway radiologists.

From what I understand, Galway radiologists have formed a business to provide MRI services and they have secured an exclusive and apparently long-running agreement to provide those services to their employer. Is it your opinion that there's nothing wrong or even questionable about this situation?