asked the Minister for Health the number of child patients in Saint Gabriel's Hospital, Cabinteely, County Dublin in each of the last three years, who were stated to be suffering from murmur of the heart; the cost to public funds of maintaining those children in hospital; and the amounts levied by the Dublin Health Authority or other authorities on the parents of those children.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Child Patients in County Dublin Hospital.
5.
Mr. Ryan
The institution mentioned in the question is a proprietary hospital and it would be contrary to practice, as involving an interference with their autonomy, to seek to require them to supply information as to the clinical condition of their patients. Even in relation to those of the patients in the hospital for whom the health authorities have accepted responsibility, such information is not ordinarily available to them as the documentation prescribed in relation to the operation of the Health Acts in this, as in other connections, is designed, in the interests of preserving medical secrecy, in such a manner as not to disclose clinical detail.