Are we being ripped off by private hospitals?

  • HSE deal equates to €44,000 per bed, while NHS deal is €10,000

  • Hospitals owned by Denis O’Brien & Larry Goodman, who have made their fortunes from questionable deals in the past

  • Breakdown of costs must be published & hospitals must open their books

Serious questions need to be asked about the €115 million a month deal the government has struck with private hospitals.

This figure, revealed in the Dáil yesterday by the Taoiseach following a question from me, equates to four times the price per hospital bed that the NHS is paying private hospitals in the UK.

I have serious concerns about the high cost of this deal. A number of these private hospitals are owned by Denis O’Brien and Larry Goodman who have made their fortunes from sweetheart deals and cosy relationships with governments in the past. In fact, some of these deals have ended up the subject of costly tribunals. But now we are told to just take them at their word that this is a not-for-profit deal? If it is, why does it seem to be so much more expensive than the deal struck by the NHS with private hospitals in the UK?


The government should publish today the full details of this deal, including a break down of the costs. The private hospitals should open their books, so we can see the real costs, rather than just pay them whatever they say.


Rather than lining the pockets of Denis O’Brien & Larry Goodman, what we really need is to bring these private hospitals permanently into the public system, to build a unified, single-tier National Health Service.

Showing 6 reactions

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  • Susan Thatcher
    commented 2020-05-21 18:04:41 +0100
    Track and trace should be investigated as could be used or hacked bye independent insurance companies and sir David bahan is a expert in insurance companies look into this NHS was involved with a Mr hunt
  • Susan Thatcher
    commented 2020-05-21 18:01:33 +0100
    Labour party did say this at the start of January looks like public money was used to conservative millionaire please look into sir David bahan HG one carehomes 300 carehomes has 20.000 staff as well who payed for that than
  • Susan Thatcher
    commented 2020-05-21 17:57:13 +0100
    Labour warned government to bring in line private sector beds should be used in pandemic wartime and goverment should make this mandatory that private carehomes cannot make any profiteering from public money that should be used for public uses only
  • Susan Thatcher
    commented 2020-05-21 17:52:57 +0100
    Please check out sir David bahan HG one carehomes 300 carehomes conservative party member sir David bahan HG one carehomes had a commons act passed in 2018 that the elderly had to sell their homes to pay. For care now today 21 may. Hancock is saying that going to look into elderly not to pay for care in which elderly don’t have to pay for care don’t trust this goverment trying to bring hospitals and carehomes together as in government policy to do this in the near future and plans are in the goverment plans America trade deal don’t trust them please look into this and thanku great job your doing should apply to work with labour party
  • Leo Keohane
    commented 2020-05-01 14:41:45 +0100
    It looks like a the charge of 44,000 per month is a bargain (let’s say that’s less than 1,500 a night).
    I was in the Mater eighteen months ago for a pretty straightforward procedure which was dealt with professionally and very successfully. I was a little puzzled that I had to stay in for two nights for this. When the bill came, paid by my insurance, it detailed the payments to the surgeon and his staff and also the charge for two nights bed. The charge per night for the bed came to 10,000! (No wonder I had to stay in – 20,000 for a bed for two nights, a slice of toast and I had to change my own bed linen – I have no argument with the medical fees)In other words, that would work out at over 300,000 per month. Obviously private health is the bonanza business to be in. (I did write to the Minster for Health and of course got the usual anodyne reply)
  • Debbie Fox
    commented 2020-04-19 18:37:05 +0100
    I couldent agree more it’s an absolute disgrace

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