Hospital in Mahon could Close soon.

Hogzy

There are fears for around 75 jobs at the Cork Medical Centre in Mahon, Cork city.

The €90m private facility opened last October and is operated by Sheehan Medical.

A spokesperson for the centre said it had not been able to secure an agreement with VHI Healthcare for cover for its subscribers.
Staff are being briefed by management.

Last September, the facility reached agreement with Aviva Health for cover for its members. It also has an agreement with Quinn Health Insurance.

The facility has been in talks with the VHI since September 2007 on securing cover. The Cork Medical Centre has 73 beds.

VHI Healthcare has said there is excess capacity in the private hospital marketplace and that it first advised the Cork Medical Centre of this position in August 2009.

It said that the developers chose to go ahead with fitting out the new hospital.

VHI met with the hospital last week and said it was surprised to learn of their financial position.

VHI said it could not comment on the financial position of the hospital or its relationship with its staff.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0223/corkmedicalcentre.html
Jesus its not even 10 months since i saw the healines saying 200 jobs for Cork and now it seems the thing is closing down. How could they not have secured a proper contract for a certain period of time.

It has to be said that the people behind this deal are absolute muppets to let this happen. How can there not be enough demand when you see the public hospitals jam packed full of people. There is a large amount of people with health insurance so surely there would be a demand.

Should improve as folks will continue to leave the VHI, of course VHI may be hard bargaining which is no harm. Surely if the VHI sent folk there is would alleviate congestion in the public hospitals.

Nutty situation really.

NoDice

Was just reading about this yesterday, it's mad considering the jobs being advertised recently as you said Hogzy. I've been up there twice since it's opening and both times there wasn't a wait and most of the doctors were sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
Surprised to read that link to RTE. What I had heard was that the hospital will remain open with another financial supporter as VHI are planning on pulling out. Your link proves how rtarded they were for going ahead with the development without a proper agreement. Mad altogether, feel so sorry for the people who secured jobs there for the moment; I hope they don't have to close it.
I think the majority of people pay for private healthcare because it's "the right thing to do" and don't really have a clue what they're entitled to with it. Shame really. Beautiful hospital too. ....never thought I'd call a hospital beautiful!

deRanged

it seems daft really.
And given that O Callaghan (I think) wants to build another private hospital on Western Road - you'd wonder what's in their heads.

Kazbah

What's the deal with that hospital is there an A&E there?
Do they only do straightforward ops?

run_Forrest_run

Kazbah wrote: »

What's the deal with that hospital is there an A&E there?
Do they only do straightforward ops?

yes, basically they cherry pick their work and charge the [private] paying patient a premium for the pleasure, talk about taking advantage of the state of the health sector in this little country, two tier and corrupt.

gbee

deRanged wrote: »

And given that O Callaghan (I think).

Take with a pinch of salt for O'Callaghan, he makes these statements as threats to the city planners if they don't give him permission for what he really wants to do.

He threatened to "Double Mahon Point" and enforced this threat with the words "Because of the magnificent road system there"

oldfecker

this private hospital crowd eeping mentioning waiting lists in te oublic hospitals...surely private patients are going to be going to the bons/shanakiel in cork !!

Also, if the other 2 insurance companies are covering it, it there not enought business between them ? why blame VHI if they were told ages ago, that they would not cover it ??

Not a good business plan... prob tax incentives to build a hospital from the boom times anyway.......

SimonPRepublic

oldfecker wrote: »

this private hospital crowd eeping mentioning waiting lists in te oublic hospitals...surely private patients are going to be going to the bons/shanakiel in cork !!

Also, if the other 2 insurance companies are covering it, it there not enought business between them ? why blame VHI if they were told ages ago, that they would not cover it ??

Not a good business plan... prob tax incentives to build a hospital from the boom times anyway.......

Vhis's patients are going to both the Bons and Shankiel, which are both over 90 years old, which I think is a disgrace for Ireland's second city. Look at all the new hospitals in Dublin covered by Vhi? To expect the people of Cork to be treated in such old establishments, when there is a brand new fully single room hospital with the latest operating theatres and infection control, is disrespectful to the people of Cork.

There is not enough medical procedures undertaken by Quinn and Aviva for a private hospital to survive, because 85% of operations are undertaken by Vhi. Also, the doctors won't sign up for a hospital until Vhi is covered, so that scuppers access to Quinn and Aviva.

I am told that Vhi indicated to every other private hospital built in Ireland that they wouldn't cover them and they still did on opening. Neither Vhi nor any of the other private health insurer will cover a private hospital until it is open because they do not approve projects off-plan; they need to check the standards of the facilities first and assess the quality of the staff before allowing their patients to be treated there. Vhi has actually been in discussions with Cork Medical Centre for some time and the Chief Exec actually visited the hospital less than a month ago.

There were NO tax incentives for Sheehan Medical to build this hospital.

People often forget that private hospital also treat public patients via the National Purchase Treatment fund to which public patients can apply if they have been on a waiting list for more than three months. The hospital has been discussions to do this. Ironically due to the shortage of operating theatres in Cork you often get private patients waiting more than three months too.

Dudess

Fook... I know someone who got a job there recently too. :-/

Always had a funny feeling about that place - it barely seemed to register on the public radar, was poorly sign-posted, and there was barely a muttering of jobs, even with things as they are jobs-wise...

Republicpr.ie

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

Vhis's patients are going to both the Bons and Shankiel, which are both over 90 years old, which I think is a disgrace for Ireland's second city. ........ To expect the people of Cork to be treated in such old establishments, when there is a brand new fully single room hospital with the latest operating theatres and infection control, is disrespectful to the people of Cork.

The Bons is absolutely top class, so what if it's 90 years old the care and treatment the patients get there is fantastic. Unless you have first hand experience of the Bons being substandard etc your post is drivel in the extreme.

gbee

RoverJames wrote: »

The Bons is absolutely top class, so what if it's 90 years old the care and treatment the patients get there is fantastic. Unless you have first hand experience of the Bons being substandard etc your post is drivel in the extreme.

A building is nothing, just a few stones or big expensive glass panels that architects can boast about tricking their clients into spending more than they had budgeted for an so on.

A hospital is about staff. skill, compassion, dedication and hard work from everybody associated. Some of the best medicine in the world is and was performed by mobile army surgical hospitals under tents, in the desert, in the jungle under fire.

parsi

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

Vhis's patients are going to both the Bons and Shankiel, which are both over 90 years old, which I think is a disgrace for Ireland's second city. Look at all the new hospitals in Dublin covered by Vhi? To expect the people of Cork to be treated in such old establishments, when there is a brand new fully single room hospital with the latest operating theatres and infection control, is disrespectful to the people of Cork.

There is not enough medical procedures undertaken by Quinn and Aviva for a private hospital to survive, because 85% of operations are undertaken by Vhi. Also, the doctors won't sign up for a hospital until Vhi is covered, so that scuppers access to Quinn and Aviva.

I am told that Vhi indicated to every other private hospital built in Ireland that they wouldn't cover them and they still did on opening. Neither Vhi nor any of the other private health insurer will cover a private hospital until it is open because they do not approve projects off-plan; they need to check the standards of the facilities first and assess the quality of the staff before allowing their patients to be treated there. Vhi has actually been in discussions with Cork Medical Centre for some time and the Chief Exec actually visited the hospital less than a month ago.

There were NO tax incentives for Sheehan Medical to build this hospital.

People often forget that private hospital also treat public patients via the National Purchase Treatment fund to which public patients can apply if they have been on a waiting list for more than three months. The hospital has been discussions to do this. Ironically due to the shortage of operating theatres in Cork you often get private patients waiting more than three months too.

Any Interests to declare ?

FWIW I've found the Bons to be an excellent hospital, extremely clean with very advanced facilities.

miss_shadow

gbee wrote: »

A building is nothing, just a few stones or big expensive glass panels that architects can boast about tricking their clients into spending more than they had budgeted for an so on.

A hospital is about staff. skill, compassion, dedication and hard work from everybody associated. Some of the best medicine in the world is and was performed by mobile army surgical hospitals under tents, in the desert, in the jungle under fire.

To a certain extent your both right but also wrong!

Hospitals need to be maintained to a standard. Old hospitals do not give enough space and are often not equipped upto standards that are needed for modern day hospitals.

evilivor

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

Vhis's patients are going to both the Bons and Shankiel, which are both over 90 years old, which I think is a disgrace for Ireland's second city. Look at all the new hospitals in Dublin covered by Vhi? To expect the people of Cork to be treated in such old establishments, when there is a brand new fully single room hospital with the latest operating theatres and infection control, is disrespectful to the people of Cork.

There is not enough medical procedures undertaken by Quinn and Aviva for a private hospital to survive, because 85% of operations are undertaken by Vhi. Also, the doctors won't sign up for a hospital until Vhi is covered, so that scuppers access to Quinn and Aviva.

I am told that Vhi indicated to every other private hospital built in Ireland that they wouldn't cover them and they still did on opening. Neither Vhi nor any of the other private health insurer will cover a private hospital until it is open because they do not approve projects off-plan; they need to check the standards of the facilities first and assess the quality of the staff before allowing their patients to be treated there. Vhi has actually been in discussions with Cork Medical Centre for some time and the Chief Exec actually visited the hospital less than a month ago.

There were NO tax incentives for Sheehan Medical to build this hospital.

People often forget that private hospital also treat public patients via the National Purchase Treatment fund to which public patients can apply if they have been on a waiting list for more than three months. The hospital has been discussions to do this. Ironically due to the shortage of operating theatres in Cork you often get private patients waiting more than three months too.

Don't you think you should have declared you were the publicist for Sheehan Medical at the start of your post?

http://www.republicpr.ie/

evilivor

evilivor wrote: »

Don't you think you should have declared you were the publicist for Sheehan Medical at the start of your post?

http://www.republicpr.ie/

Chuckle chuckle.

On a serious note though I really don't think any sane non numpty person could fault the Bons.

Beruthiel

Republicpr.ie

Please contact hello@boards.ie
We do not allow companies to post on this site without direct authorisation from the Boards.ie office.

Outkast_IRE

what a bad argument republiccpr made anyway, the bons is always refurbising wards to keep them all up to date, iv worked on 3 of the different ward refurbs in the space of 18 months , who cares how old the building is , its the quality of care , cleanliness and quality of facilites that matter.
I havent been in shanakiel but im sure they keep it in excellent condition too.

scuby

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

Vhis's patients are going to both the Bons and Shankiel, which are both over 90 years old, which I think is a disgrace for Ireland's second city. Look at all the new hospitals in Dublin covered by Vhi? To expect the people of Cork to be treated in such old establishments, when there is a brand new fully single room hospital with the latest operating theatres and infection control, is disrespectful to the people of Cork.

There is not enough medical procedures undertaken by Quinn and Aviva for a private hospital to survive, because 85% of operations are undertaken by Vhi. Also, the doctors won't sign up for a hospital until Vhi is covered, so that scuppers access to Quinn and Aviva.

I am told that Vhi indicated to every other private hospital built in Ireland that they wouldn't cover them and they still did on opening. Neither Vhi nor any of the other private health insurer will cover a private hospital until it is open because they do not approve projects off-plan; they need to check the standards of the facilities first and assess the quality of the staff before allowing their patients to be treated there. Vhi has actually been in discussions with Cork Medical Centre for some time and the Chief Exec actually visited the hospital less than a month ago.

There were NO tax incentives for Sheehan Medical to build this hospital.

People often forget that private hospital also treat public patients via the National Purchase Treatment fund to which public patients can apply if they have been on a waiting list for more than three months. The hospital has been discussions to do this. Ironically due to the shortage of operating theatres in Cork you often get private patients waiting more than three months too.

1. Why is this a disgrace ? they carry out more important/medically necessary procedures than Mahon were going to ? what difference does it make if they are over 90 yrs old ?? it's the quality of care and standards that matter....

2. funny... "such old establishments" so what if they are

3. Mahon Gambled on previous hospital agreements and it back fired !

4. somehow i do not think quinn/ vhi/aviva would look, or have he power to check the staff working there, that is up to the hospital to employ the right people..

5. so they were gambling on getting patients fromthe treatment fund as well !

Seems like it was not a very well thought out plan, from reading they were told that the would not be covered from the start and all the way through, eyt they still go ahead and build it and still blame a third party for the failure....

Dudess

Fook... again... :pac:

I thought there was something a bit strange all right about the way Republicpr.ie was going on about the Bons as if it's an auld kip of a place. My mum was in there recently and I thought the place was superb. And her room and bathroom - bloody hell, I'd like that at home for meself! :pac:
Just because a building is 90 years old doesn't mean it's not possible to modernise it...

scuby

robbed this from a post on politics.ie

So they knew back in Oct 2010 from the following, that vhi were not going to cover them
http://www.sbpost.ie/newsfeatures/healthy-outlook-52298.html
... Aviva and Quinn have agreed to cover their members for treatment at the CMC, but VHI has not. ‘‘It is a concern, but not a big one," Sheehan said.

‘‘We have seen consistent growth in the number of self-payers in Galway.

As the economic crisis continues we will see more people drop out of the health insurance market and take a risk. I think more and more people will adopt the attitude that private healthcare is something they will pay for if they need it,’’Sheehan said.

‘‘That," he quickly added, ‘‘is no bad thing."

scuby

evilivor wrote: »

Don't you think you should have declared you were the publicist for Sheehan Medical at the start of your post?

http://www.republicpr.ie/

Beruthiel wrote: »

Republicpr.ie

Please contact hello@boards.ie
We do not allow companies to post on this site without direct authorisation from the Boards.ie office.

looks like Republicpr his failed going on his own "code of practice"

http://www.republicpr.ie/prii-codes-practice/

1. Public relations activities must be carried out openly: they must be readily identifiable, bear a clear indication of their origin, and must not tend to mislead third parties.

parsi

I'm laughing at the posting by the PR person talking about "the people of Cork". This is nothing to do with the people of Cork. Like the Bons it's a private hospital open to those who have private insurance or are willing to self-pay. It's not some sort of community hospital for all Cork people irrespective or age , income or ethnicity. I'm sure if any of the locals from Mahon turned up without funds they'd get the bums rush despite being part of "the people of Cork".

This is a prime case of someone failing to get their ducks in a row and then bullying the VHI into supporting it by means of press campaigns, political wheeler-dealing and the like.

Outkast_IRE

still though the more i think of it , the more fishy it sounds , surely at this stage the other insurance companies have enough clients to provide plenty of patients.
Or did they open their doors expecting to wipe out the bons and take all the business. Seems just like an ill advised venture to me

MunsterCycling

RoverJames wrote: »

The Bons is absolutely top class, so what if it's 90 years old the care and treatment the patients get there is fantastic. Unless you have first hand experience of the Bons being substandard etc your post is drivel in the extreme.

I have an Aunt who upon entering the above claimed "Top Class" establishment developed bed sores and had to endure doctors who loved the sound of their own voice rather than listen to their client/patient. The Bons may have once been a top hospital but it hasn't been for quite a number of years.

wispyman

Looks like the end is approaching:

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/liquidator-expected-to-be-appointed-to-mahon-private-hospital-149586.html

Seems like total madness - but what's new!

MunsterCycling

MunsterCycling wrote: »

I have an Aunt who upon entering the above claimed "Top Class" establishment developed bed sores and had to endure doctors who loved the sound of their own voice rather than listen to their client/patient. The Bons may have once been a top hospital but it hasn't been for quite a number of years.

So that means it isn't top class ?, having seen family members being treated for cancer and heart disease there I maintain in my experience it is a top class hospital.

Dudess

Yeah, crappy experience for that lady, but it doesn't necessarily mean the whole establishment overall is sub-standard.

Feck it, the poor staff in Mahon. :-/

What a white elephant though...

oldfecker

MunsterCycling wrote: »

I have an Aunt who upon entering the above claimed "Top Class" establishment developed bed sores and had to endure doctors who loved the sound of their own voice rather than listen to their client/patient. The Bons may have once been a top hospital but it hasn't been for quite a number of years.

you can "develop" bedsores in an old hospital or a shiny new one with lots of glass and hype..... anyone can catch them from lying down too much on one side, or having sensitive skin. If the family were sick of listening to their voice, why not questions the Dr's about her treatment ?

Back to the topic, the sheehans gambled and were caught out

Outkast_IRE

oldfecker wrote: »

you can "develop" bedsores in an old hospital or a shiny new one with lots of glass and hype..... anyone can catch them from lying down too much on one side, or having sensitive skin. If the family were sick of listening to their voice, why not questions the Dr's about her treatment ?

Back to the topic, the sheehans gambled and were caught out

Have no sympathy for the sheehans , loads of sympathy for the staff that were taken on though that must of been heartbreaking .
Surely it would financially be better to mothball the building for a few years and in the meantime work on getting National treatment fund patients and other sources of income.

SimonPRepublic

evilivor wrote: »

Don't you think you should have declared you were the publicist for Sheehan Medical at the start of your post?

http://www.republicpr.ie/

I've never hidden the fact they are one of my clients that's why I use my company name as my username and have full details in Boards.ie profile. If I want to check out another poster I look at their profile. I don't believe in posting anonymously in discussions like this because you can't have an honest debate.

SimonPRepublic

Dudess wrote: »

it barely seemed to register on the public radar, was poorly sign-posted, and there was barely a muttering of jobs, even with things as they are jobs-wise...

@dudess if you call the RTE Six One News (twice), TV3 News (twice), Morning Ireland, Newstalk lots of other radio news and feature coverage, plus being consistently in the main news pages of all the national pages 'barely a muttering' then I'd like to know what you see as high profile.

MunsterCycling

RoverJames wrote: »

So that means it isn't top class ?, having seen family members being treated for cancer and heart disease there I maintain in my experience it is a top class hospital.

Yes, yes it does.

MunsterCycling

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

I've never hidden the fact they are one of my clients that's why I use my company name as my username and have full details in Boards.ie profile. If I want to check out another poster I look at their profile. I don't believe in posting anonymously in discussions like this because you can't have an honest debate.

You must get authorisation from boards to post. See the mod warning you were given.


MC

SimonPRepublic

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

what a bad argument republiccpr made anyway, the bons is always refurbising wards to keep them all up to date, iv worked on 3 of the different ward refurbs in the space of 18 months , who cares how old the building is , its the quality of care , cleanliness and quality of facilites that matter.
I havent been in shanakiel but im sure they keep it in excellent condition too.

As Dr Gareth Higgins said recently in The Cork News he's worked in Australia, the UK and elsewhere Ireland and he's never seen operating theatres of the standard in CMC. Stainless steel, any bacterial sealant on walls, kicks strips on the doors and their own air flow systems. They were pretty incredible.

The key is not the building itself but the layout. All hospitals should have single rooms now, that is best practice in order to reduce the spread of infections such as MRSA. In the US now all hospitals have to be built with single rooms. CMC was the first in Ireland to do so.

On entry each patient was to go up to their room and be swabbed for superbugs, if they were found to have them then they were moved to one of the isolation rooms on each ward, which had their own air system and also was had negative air pressure where the patients were kept until superbug free. The layout of the building also meant there was little chance of contact with either other patients or visitors and, therefore, less chance of infection when they were being moved around. The layout of the building on ascending floors meant patients were out of the ward straight in one of the patient only lifts and straight down to the operating theatres, with little movement in between, thus reducing the chances of infection further. If you compare this to the Bons you can be rolled around all over the place.

Infection control is the main priority when designing any new hospital.

SimonPRepublic

MunsterCycling wrote: »

You must get authorisation from boards to post. See the mod warning you were given.


MC

I am posting as an individual and have posted on here for years always being open about who I am, that's why I use my company name, I feel it's more honest that way.

Simon.

oldfecker

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

I've never hidden the fact they are one of my clients that's why I use my company name as my username and have full details in Boards.ie profile. If I want to check out another poster I look at their profile. I don't believe in posting anonymously in discussions like this because you can't have an honest debate.

Simon,

the sheehans were told all along that VHI were not going to cover them, the sheehans knew this and said that it did not bother them, as the had seen how the galway clinic had cash paying patients and treatment fund patients, and they were going to go this route also...they gambled and it back fired. they also gambled the jobs of the employees that left their previous jobs to go to mahon, the sheehans are not even paying them their final salary per papers reports.... i feel for the employees, but NOT the sheehans

evilivor

Republicpr.ie wrote: »

I am posting as an individual and have posted on here for years always being open about who I am, that's why I use my company name, I feel it's more honest that way.

Simon.

You are posting about a company you get paid to say nice things about. You do not have an individual position in this case.

I'd gladly read your posts about the weather but, when talking about hospitals, you have no credibility.

castie

Beruthiel wrote: »

Republicpr.ie

Please contact hello@boards.ie
We do not allow companies to post on this site without direct authorisation from the Boards.ie office.

Republicpr.ie permanent ban for not following instructions.

quackshot

I am an orthopedic surgeon from Cork now working in the UK. I previously had a position at a rival hospital to CMC in Cork (one of the ones mentioned above). Since them I have worked in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and parts of East Asia, in both the public and private sectors, so I feel I am qualified to comment on the standards of hospitals. What I can add to this conversation is that I have never ever worked in a hospital of this standard anywhere in the world. There is nothing like it in Ireland, and certainly not in Cork.

I was intending to move back and take a slot in CMC and thought it was incredible that Cork was getting a hospital worthy of the city's stature.


I was discussing the situation with some colleagues here in London recently and they were astounded that Cork, Ireland's so-called second city, did not have a modern hospital. They literally were very shocked indeed. The lack of such as facility and the debacle surrounding CMC reflects very badly on Cork and Ireland as whole. The Cork residents paying private health fees to Vhi should be outraged at this decision because it will have a direct consequence on the quality of health services they will receive.


A situation like this would not be allowed to happen in any other country that I have worked in. An asset like this to health system would simply not be allowed to fail. Aside from that, no other country would leave it's second city with such outdated facilities or without a new hospital for so long. How long now before Cork get's another hospital of this standard with fully single rooms?


As sad sad day for Cork.

parsi

Wow.

One whole post.

This was a business. It's business foundation didn't work out because it relied on State-owned companies to support it.

That's it.

parsi

quackshot wrote: »

A situation like this would not be allowed to happen in any other country that I have worked in. An asset like this to health system would simply not be allowed to fail. Aside from that, no other country would leave it's second city with such outdated facilities or without a new hospital for so long. How long now before Cork get's another hospital of this standard with fully single rooms?


As sad sad day for Cork.

Serious ? The staff in the Charite in Berlin are pissed off at the moment. Facilities in Cork aren't outdated unless you're a Sheehan or one of their PR shills.

quackshot

Parsi - yes this is my first time on here and I don't intend to be on here again, but as I said I live in the UK now. I just wanted to offer my insight, which I happen to think is valuable to the conversation and don't expect to get snide comments because I choose to do so. If you had seen this, and other modern facilities, you simply would not be saying Cork has them, because it does not. The current facility I work in doesn't even have the standards that were being put in play at Mahon. The hospital I used to work at in Cork has been extended over the years and had bits added on or converted, which means patients are being wheeled over a great distance, coming into contact with other people, and have a great many instances where they, or the staff, can pick up infections. That is the most important factor here. Then when they return to their rooms they are sharing with other patients. This is only one aspect of an outdated mode of health treatment, but one that seems to fit with your outdated Irish view of medicine and I say that as an Irishman myself.

gciddy

Hello,

Here are my obs as a former employee of CMC and to shed some light on the misinformation:

1) The Cork Medical Centre isn't simply a 'Sheehan' hospital. There are a lot of people who invested and believed in the idea of bringing a modern hospital to the second biggest city in Ireland. There are a lot of local companies that would have benefited from having this hospital open, and many companies who ended up losing money because it was closed. To simply state this as just 'The Sheehans gambled and lost. Too bad for them!' is ignorant.

2) VHI verbally agreed to provide coverage to CMC and then backed away from it on the basis that there are 'enough private beds in Ireland'. Who is VHI to decide this? Are they an insurance company or a regulator?

3) At the same time VHI denied covering CMC - they provided coverage to a private hospital in Dublin. When CMC said they would take the same deal - VHI said 'no'.

4) Minister for Health said the following about VHI:

Minister Coveney said: “Vhi should not be able to provide a veto on what hospitals it provides cover to. I also do not accept that there is no need for the facility in Cork. The Government wants to see the hospital opened and to save these jobs but we cannot instruct the Vhi as to how they run the business.”

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/minister-hits-out-at-vhi-as-75-jobs-lost-496880.html#ixzz1IS1aSm3J


My conclusion:

This isn't about poor hospital/business management (although there was some of that involved) this is about an insurance company holding a monopoly and deciding what private company will open and which one won't. This is about a semi-state organization working directly against the increase in competition in Cork which would make all private hospitals better! The Cork Medical Centre would raise the bar on the level of care and service it would provide to patients in Cork that the Bons and Shanakiel would have to respond to.

Instead, the decision was made that what Cork has now is 'good enough' for its people. Whether that is true or not, it isn't VHI's place to make that decision! If CMC isn't needed patients would not have come to it and it would have gone out of business. But, to completely take away its opportunity to compete is BAD BAD BAD for Cork and Ireland.

Ireland open for business? Yah, right...

I don't know why VHI covers some hospitals and not others, but I can tell you that it has no problem providing cover to Dublin Hospitals. It also has no problem providing cover to private hospitals that are more 'Irish' - just look at the problem the Beacon hospital had...

G

evilivor

^

Gosh, a lot of new activity on this thread all of a sudden - did Simon get all his friends to post in his absence?

gciddy

Very cynical evilivor. Excuse me for still caring about a hospital that I spent a lot of time working at only to have it closed down by politics and stupidity.

G

parsi

Perhaps one should contemplate why a private hospital can't stand on its own but requires significant public subsidy ?

gciddy

What significant public subsidy do you speak of? You certainly can't be saying a semi-state insurance company that holds 60+% of the coverage and 80+% of private procedures as public subsidy. No, that's a monopoly.

Outkast_IRE

They had a "verbal " agreement with VHI , in fairness only a fool would open a entire hospital based on a verbal agreement . That makes no business sense/as an investor it would make no sense .
And the Vhi has every right to decide if they want to cover a hospital or not , the alternative would mean any hospital that opened would be obliged to be covered , thats not the way any business would operate.

oldfecker

gciddy wrote: »

Hello,

Here are my obs as a former employee of CMC and to shed some light on the misinformation:

1) The Cork Medical Centre isn't simply a 'Sheehan' hospital. There are a lot of people who invested and believed in the idea of bringing a modern hospital to the second biggest city in Ireland. There are a lot of local companies that would have benefited from having this hospital open, and many companies who ended up losing money because it was closed. To simply state this as just 'The Sheehans gambled and lost. Too bad for them!' is ignorant.

2) VHI verbally agreed to provide coverage to CMC and then backed away from it on the basis that there are 'enough private beds in Ireland'. Who is VHI to decide this? Are they an insurance company or a regulator?

3) At the same time VHI denied covering CMC - they provided coverage to a private hospital in Dublin. When CMC said they would take the same deal - VHI said 'no'.

4) Minister for Health said the following about VHI:

Minister Coveney said: “Vhi should not be able to provide a veto on what hospitals it provides cover to. I also do not accept that there is no need for the facility in Cork. The Government wants to see the hospital opened and to save these jobs but we cannot instruct the Vhi as to how they run the business.”

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/minister-hits-out-at-vhi-as-75-jobs-lost-496880.html#ixzz1IS1aSm3J


My conclusion:

This isn't about poor hospital/business management (although there was some of that involved) this is about an insurance company holding a monopoly and deciding what private company will open and which one won't. This is about a semi-state organization working directly against the increase in competition in Cork which would make all private hospitals better! The Cork Medical Centre would raise the bar on the level of care and service it would provide to patients in Cork that the Bons and Shanakiel would have to respond to.

Instead, the decision was made that what Cork has now is 'good enough' for its people. Whether that is true or not, it isn't VHI's place to make that decision! If CMC isn't needed patients would not have come to it and it would have gone out of business. But, to completely take away its opportunity to compete is BAD BAD BAD for Cork and Ireland.

Ireland open for business? Yah, right...

I don't know why VHI covers some hospitals and not others, but I can tell you that it has no problem providing cover to Dublin Hospitals. It also has no problem providing cover to private hospitals that are more 'Irish' - just look at the problem the Beacon hospital had...

G

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

They had a "verbal " agreement with VHI , in fairness only a fool would open a entire hospital based on a verbal agreement . That makes no business sense/as an investor it would make no sense .
And the Vhi has every right to decide if they want to cover a hospital or not , the alternative would mean any hospital that opened would be obliged to be covered , thats not the way any business would operate.

Agree with you Outkast
the "sheehans" KNEW they would not be covered going back to last year, going on an interview they gave, and at the time said it was no big deal to them. then they run and blame an insurance company for their own miserable down fall !! not very business savy. And what business now a days operates on verbal agreements ? they do not stand up in court, and to base their business plan on an insurance company that may or may not be there in a few years in stupid

gciddy,when the job was offered to you in CMC, did you get it verbally or in writing ??

Coveney is not minister for health either

SimonPRepublic

evilivor wrote: »

^

Gosh, a lot of new activity on this thread all of a sudden - did Simon get all his friends to post in his absence?

I certainly don't need anyone else to post on my behalf.