A consultant working at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) who was at the centre of an internal review for allegedly referring public patients to his own weekend clinic did not face disciplinary action, The Irish Times has learned.
The consultant instead retired, after the investigation highlighted issues around governance and adherence to correct procedures in a children’s hospital.
According to the unpublished findings of the investigation, reported by the Sunday Times, the consultant breached HSE guidelines by referring patients he was seeing in his public practice to weekend clinics he was operating separately.
This decision delayed operations for sick children by up to three years, the newspaper reported, with the funding for some of these clinics coming from the National treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), which seeks to reduce hospital waiting lists.
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However, it is understood the clinician did not face disciplinary proceedings, nor was he referred to the Irish Medical Council. He no longer works for CHI.
Legal advice is currently being sought about the publication of the report, which Bernard Gloster, chief executive of the HSE, has called for.
Mr Gloster said he was unaware of the situation before the media reports, and has requested a copy of the report from the new CHI chief executive, Lucy Nugent.
“I assure you if anything connected with, or near connected with alleged people ingratiating themselves financially in the public health system, the first step I’ll be taking is to refer that matter to the gardaí,” he told RTÉ on Sunday.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for CHI said the organisation “regularly” conducts internal reviews “to ensure any issues are identified and addresses across our services”.
“CHI is a learning organisation and service improvements through internal reviews and clinical audits, which are an essential tool to support this, will continue to be a priority,” the spokeswoman said.
“This internal review report from 2021 included recommendations, which at the time were accepted, implemented and continue to be implemented.”
In a statement, the NTPF said it is “deeply concerned” by the reports around the internal investigation, but added that payments are only made to hospitals directly and never to individual consultants.
The NTPF said it is liaising closely with the Department of Health, the HSE and the CHI on the matter.
A spokeswoman for Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she recognises this story will “cause further distress for parents and families”.
“The Department of Health is not routinely notified of internal examinations within acute hospitals, and no such notification was made in this case under existing patient safety protocols,” she said.
“The Minister continues to engage with officials in her department and the HSE on this matter.”
The revelation is the latest in a number of controversies facing CHI, which was established in January 2019 as a new entity to govern and deliver acute paediatric services and which currently operates hospitals in Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght.
On Friday, the HSE published an audit on developmental dysplasia of the hip surgeries, which found almost 70 per cent of these procedures carried out in two hospitals – Temple Street and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh – over a three-year period were not necessary.
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Last month, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) published a report on the implantation of unlicensed springs into three children with scoliosis, which described the situation as “wrong”.
Another report, by UK expert Selvadurai Nayagam, is also being conducted into orthopaedic surgery at Temple Street following reports of poor surgical outcomes.
Senior health sources have said there is a “serious lack of confidence” in CHI following these issues, with discussions currently centring around how it should operate in the future, and whether it should be subsumed back under the HSE.
