Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 3

Written Answers. - Hospital Services.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

215 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children his attitude towards a recent report from Beaumont Hospital that it should be paid by other hospitals for the cost of treating patients who are referred for tertiary care under the principle that the money follows the patient and there should be a charge back mechanism in place. [9992/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

In the case of out-patient and in-patient services provided by Beaumont Hospital in respect of tertiary referrals from other hospitals, there is no provision for inter-hospital charging as the annual financial allocation to each hospital takes account of the provision of such services. An exception to this is the MRI service arrangements.