Vol. 417 No. 7
118 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that pregnant women can no longer have access to private rooms in maternity hospitals unless they have engaged a private consultant; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
142 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Health whether he intends that expectant mothers who opt to attend a gynaecologist on a private basis may no longer avail of a public hospital bed as was their right heretofore; his views on whether measures aimed at prevention of queue hopping by private patients can realistically be applied to expectant mothers; if he will take steps to ensure that the choice available to pregnant mothers with regard to consultant and hospital treatment is not diminished; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 142 together.
Section 5 of the Health (Amendment) Act, 1991, which was enacted by the Oireachtas on 31 May last, removed the entitlement to combine public and private elements of in-patient care at the same time. The position now is that every patient is entitled to full public hospital services including public accommodation and public consultant care. Alternatively one may opt to be the private patient of both the consultant and the hospital.
