South and East Belfast Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

SHOCK AS HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPENDS £19.4m ON PRIVATE SECTOR TREATMENT

Published: 14 January, 2009

South Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey has hit out at what he calls the continuing 'creeping privatisation' of the Health Service.


Mr Maskey was speaking as he expressed his shock disbelief that the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety have spent, approximately £19.4 million, treating orthopaedic patients within the private sector, including over 12,000 patients in the Belfast Trust area, between 2006 to 2008. As this money was being spent it was confirmed that the Department intends to close beds in at the orthopaedic ward at South Belfast's Musgrave Park Hospital.


The South Belfast MLA said,

"The Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has revealed that, between 2006 and 2008, in Belfast12,368 orthopaedic patients have been referred to the private sector for treatment by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. This cost of such private treatment throughout the North in the same time period amounts to around £19.4 million.


"This amounts to nothing more than the continuing creeping privatisation of the Health Service here. It is particularly shocking that this amount of money is being spent treating orthopaedic patients within the private sector at a time when the Minister has confirmed that he is to close orthopaedic beds at Musgrave Park Hospital".


"On the one hand the department is closing down what amounts to a whole ward used for orthopaedic treatment at Musgrave Park hospital, while on the other hand they are quite happy to spend around £19.4m in referring over 12,000 patients for treatment by the private sector.


He concluded,

"This is a shocking situation and I am sure than many people will share my view that this money could be better spent by being invested in improving public sector treatment rather than furthering a privatisation agenda. The Minister must explain his Departments position on this and I am sure that the public and those who work within the Health sector will want to be reassured that the Minister has a strategy to ensure that this situation is reversed to the extend that patients will no longer be referred to the private sector for treatment".

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