Vol. 469 No. 2
82 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Health his views on the policy of St. Vincent's Hospital in Elm Park, Dublin 4, in refusing to treat or accept referral patients outside its catchment area unless in exceptional circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17132/96]
Limerick East): St. Vincent's Hospital is funded to provide acute hospital services to the population of South-East Dublin and Wicklow. In addition, as a tertiary referral hospital, St. Vincent's is funded to provide services in a number of designated national specialities e.g. liver transplant programme and cystic fibrosis. It is not the responsibility of the hospital to treat patients referred from outside of its designated catchment area for routine conditions unless as part of its national responsibilities. This approach is consistent with the focus in the health strategy on the need for self sufficiency in each health board area in providing regional services.
St. Vincent's Hospital is funded in 1996 to provide the same level of approved activity as in 1995. The hospital has responded to some recent inaccurate media reports concerning 1996 activity levels and is continuing to treat and accept appropriate referrals from outside its catchment area of South-East Dublin and Wicklow. This has been reiterated by the chairman of the medical board at St. Vincent's Hospital, who has recently confirmed in a public statement that there is no ban on consultants in St. Vincent's Hospital accepting patients from outside its catchment area.
