asked the Minister for Health the steps, if any, he is taking to eliminate the difference in length of time spent on hospital waiting lists between private and public patients.
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
45.
A number of general principles govern the manner in which people have access to hospital services. A universal principle is that access to the services is determined by the medical needs of the patient. In the Irish hospital system there is a long-standing tradition of incorporating the public and private practices of hospital consultants within the public hospital system. I believe that this tradition has served the people of this country well in making the services of the most eminent and highly-skilled medical personnel available to all categories of patient. I am at all times concerned to ensure that there is equality of access for patients and I cannot accept that public patients who are in urgent need of treatment do not have access to hospital facilities.
Under the terms of the common contract, consultants have the right to private practice within and without the hospital in which they are employed. However, in public hospitals the common contract stipulates that medical need should be the overall criterion for access to hospital and that admissions should be arranged accordingly. Admission policies and practices in private hospitals are a matter for those institutions.