Report of the Independent Review Group established to examine private activity in public hospitals

The Independent Review Group was chaired by Dr Donal de Buitléir, chairman of the Low Pay Commission and former HSE Board member. The Group conducted a comprehensive examination of private activity in public hospitals and their Report submitted to the Minister contains eight recommendations which the Group considers will be necessary to achieve the goal articulated in Sláintecare that private activity would be removed from public hospitals. Five recommendations concern the consultant contract. A sixth recommends legislation to ensure that public hospitals are exclusively used for the treatment of public patients from the conclusion of the ten-year Sláintecare implementation period. Two further recommendations relate to better data collection and HIQAs role in private hospitals