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THE RELIGIOUS SISTERS of Charity have announced that they will end their involvement with the St Vincent’s Hospital Group – and will have no involvement with the National Maternity Hospital.
Ownership of the specific piece of land at the Elm Park campus, the site of the former St Vincent’s Private Hospital, which is currently subject to a rental agreement, will be sold to SVHG at commercial terms yet to be agreed.
In a statement today, Sr Mary Christian, Congregational Leader of the Religious Sisters of Charity, said:
The Religious Sisters of Charity will end our involvement in St Vincent’s Healthcare Group and will not be involved in the ownership or management of the new National Maternity Hospital.
The news comes after much discussion and controversy over the religious congregation’s involvement in the National Maternity Hospital (NMH).
Over 1,500 people had turned out in a protest earlier this month against the Sisters of Charity owning the hospital.
Ex-Holles Street master, Dr Peter Boylan, resigned from the board of the maternity hospital over the row about ownership. He had described himself as “long being a critic of the plan”, calling it unprecedented.
Health Minister Simon Harris had called for ‘cool heads’ in April due to the uproar over the ownership being given to the religious order. He had also spoken out after people raised fears that having a religious body involved in the maternity hospital would effectively mean that “nuns will be running the hospital” – describing that as “not true”.
The National Maternity Hospital is being moved from Holles Street to St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin 4, with a large development taking place there at an estimated cost of €150 million.
In April, it was confirmed that the new unit would be solely under the ownership of the Sisters of Charity, who are the major shareholders of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group. But that has been reversed due to today’s announcement.
Sr Mary Christian continued in today’s statement:
“For the last two years we have been actively working to find the best way to relinquish our shareholding of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG). It includes three hospitals; St Vincent’s University Hospital, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and St Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire.
Although the Sisters of Charity no longer have any direct involvement in the provision of healthcare services we remain dedicated to preserving the legacy of Mary Aikenhead, whose mission in life was to heal and care for the sick and poor. We believe that the future continued success of SVHG can best be ensured by our transferring ownership of the group to a newly formed company with charitable status to be called ‘St Vincent’s’. The Religious Sisters of Charity will have no involvement in this new company.
Upon completion of this proposed transaction, the requirement set out in the SVHG Constitution, to conduct and maintain the SVHG facilities in accordance with The Religious Sisters of Charity Health Service Philosophy and Ethical Code, will be amended and replaced to reflect compliance with national and international best practice guidelines on medical ethics and the laws of the Republic of Ireland.
She said that the SVHG Board, management and staff “will continue to provide acute healthcare services that foster Mary Aikenhead’s core values of dignity, compassion, justice, quality and advocacy”.
They will ensure that the three hospitals in SVHG can continue to meet the needs of their patients and families, so that every individual can always access the care and treatment they need to achieve health and well-being.
‘St Vincent’s’ will replace the Sisters of Charity as the shareholders in SVHG. The shares in SVHG will be transferred to St Vincent’s for a nominal/“peppercorn” consideration in return.
The Religious Sisters of Charity will no longer have a right to appoint Directors to the Board of SVHG, and the present two Sister Directors will resign from the Board with immediate effect.
The statement added that:
In the event of the liquidation or wind-up of St Vincent’s at any time in the future, any surplus assets arising therefrom will be vested with the Charitable Regulator and utilised for healthcare purposes and facilities with similar values.
“Just as our Founder Mary Aikenhead saw the need in 1834 to establish a hospital to meet the needs of the sick and poor, we believe that it is in the best interests of the patients and children born in the National Maternity Hospital today that they be provided with modern maternity and neonatal services that are women and infant centred and integrated within the Elm Park campus,” said the statement.
“It is now time for us to relinquish completely our involvement in SVHG. We are confident that the Board, management and staff of SVHG will continue to maintain a steadfast dedication to providing the best possible acute healthcare to patients and their families in line with the values espoused by Mary Aikenhead”.
This proposal has the full support of the Board of SVHG.
Health Minister Simon Harris said he welcomed the news. He said the timing of the “historic decision” was very welcome.
“It directly addresses concerns regarding the question of religious influence in the new National Maternity Hospital and further illustrates the constructive role of the Sisters to facilitate this landmark project.
“The Department of Health is continuing to engage with St Vincent’s Healthcare Group and the National Maternity Hospital in relation to the project. The Minister will update Government on the project next week.”
In a separate statement, The Chairperson of SVHG, James Menton, said: “These are major developments, and reflect the wonderful legacy to Irish healthcare of the Sisters of Charity.”
The Sisters have always held the highest ambitions for the provision of world class healthcare services in Ireland and have successfully achieved and sustained this. They also see the need for the proposed development of the new National Maternity Hospital integrated within the Elm Park campus and want to do everything possible to ensure this vital facility for mothers and babies is developed as quickly as possible.
He said that the Board, management and 4,000 staff of SVHG are also absolutely committed to upholding the vision and values of Mary Aikenhead.
A transition board will be put in place for a period of time following this decision.
The National Maternity Hospital said it “warmly welcomes” the statement from The Sisters of Charity and the Board of SVHG. It said:
At all stages during the Kieran Mulvey mediation it was our clear understanding that the nuns never sought to exercise clinical control over the Hospital and that the independent ethos of the new National Maternity Hospital would be preserved on relocation to the SVHG campus.
We have worked closely with St Vincent’s University Hospital for generations and we would like to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of the Sisters of Charity to Irish Healthcare over so many years.
It said it it would also like to acknowledge the support of the Minister, Simon Harris and the Department of Health and its own Board and staff “in being so steadfast during this process”.
A former member of the National Maternity Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital co-location board, Professor Chris Fitzpatrick, told Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 that the decision was “a brave step forward and the correct decision”.
He said it had been made in the interests of women and was a positive development, made in response to public concern about a potential conflict of interest.
The news was also welcomed by the Health Minister as a “very significant” announcement.
Dr Peter Boylan also described it as a positive development, saying the Sisters deserve praise for making it. He told Today with Sean O’Rourke that he didn’t think “the Sisters should have been put in the position in the first place”.
He said that the situation had been stressful for him but he has very fond memories of Holles Street, of which he is governor.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Health, Billy Kelleher has said the Sisters of Charity have taken the right decision to remove themselves from the operation of the St Vincent’s Hospital Group, and the new National Maternity Hospital.
“This decision, I believe, is in the best interests of both the organisation and of patients, and will provide a blueprint for other religious organisations to follow,” he said.
“The Sisters of Charity have provided excellent medical and nursing care to the people of Ireland for generations. Their contribution should be recognised and celebrated, but in 2017, it’s time to find a better and more modern model for the delivery of acute and maternal health services.”
He said that Minister Harris “must now come forward with a proposal that ensures that the State’s €300 million investment in the new Maternity Hospital is reflected, and protected, in its ownership and governance structure”.
Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Deputy Louise O’Reilly also welcomed the news, saying:
“The decision is hugely important for a variety or reasons, but most of all; it is hugely significant for patients and particularly for women who will be cared for in any of these hospitals and in the prospective new maternity hospital.
“Indeed, today is a great victory for the grassroots movements and the individuals across the state that protested this decision from the outset and made it clear that the provision of health services should be free of religious interference.”
Sinn Féin brought a motion in the Dáil earlier this month calling for the new National Maternity Hospital to be kept wholly in the ownership of the State.
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Liam Woods said when this morning’s hospital figures are released, they will likely show that “the system remains under very significant pressure”.
The bank accounts of the thousands of managers, directors and executives who contribute nothing to the HSE are not under pressure though. Clear out the whole organisation and start again.
@David Corrigan: disband the HSE. Go back to the way it was. Regional Health boards. It wasnt broken until they rebranded it with HSE. Clean out the top earners_ managers. Bring in performance contracts for these guys. Dont do your job! then get lost and of course with no big hand shake.
@Dave Barrett: 100% spot on Dave.
@Dave Barrett: I get the feeling the HSE is only a veneer over the health boards. I moved from the Southeast to the Northwest and my long term illness drug list had to be reassessed by HSE Northwest (old NW health board) although it was fine for HSE Southeast(old SE health board)
The Big black hole which is our health service is starting to collapse. Bad management, over paid consultants and admin staff wouldn’t last 5 minutes in a real job in the real world. Stop exporting our 5000 trained nurses that we tax payers educate each year. Give them the contracts they deserve. Stop importing foreign nursing staff etc. The whole hse is a shambles
@The Equalizer: our own educated nurses are gone a long time and still going
Without the “foreign nurses” we will not and would not have survived.
Respect what we have and listen to what’s wrong at the front line
@The Equalizer: you haven’t a clue. Every nurse in the HSE foreign national or not is needed and welcome. I’m a dept manager and earn less that 45k pa..far from over paid and I work damn hard every week for my money as do all the department heads at my location . We are sick of being run down in the media when we do our best every day to make sure service support is in place to make sure the hospitals run. Easy target running down the people that run the hospitals. You miss out on the people who owe their lives to the consultants in hospitals. Yes the system needs addressing at executive level but the boots on the ground are the people who keep it functioning day in day out despite the adversity of people like you
@Paul Murphy: Where is all the money being wasted within the HSE Paul?
@Paul Murphy: earn less than 45k PA? Well overpaid..
@David Corrigan: we currently have a health system that has capacity for 2.5 million people and not almost 5 million. The money is going to the private sector to shore up the shortfall. The minister says he is increasing capacity which in reality means putting up extra beds in already packed wards with no extra staff to care for them. The health services are in chaos .
@HuffnPuff: The whole thing seems to be collapsing now.
@David Corrigan: HSE pay top dollar for everything they buy in they should be using their buying power to reduce costs such as supermarket chains. Ridiculous employment contracts with 39 hour contracts being the standard. Waste of money at corporare level with new initiatives every month but how many last longer than the ink drying on the paper. Old buildings costing millions to keep going when they should be sold off and the cash reinvested. There are some really progressive people who are being hamstrung by people above them who won’t move beyond the comfort zone.
..and let’s not mention legal settlements which come directly from hospital budgets
@David Corrigan: it has collapsed but they can’t admit that. Staff are literally haemorrhaging out of the HSE.
@David Corrigan: it has collapsed but they can’t admit that now. Staff are literally running out of the HSE, experienced staff with great skills who just can’t stick it anymore.
@Patti o furniture: Try managing 60 people in two departments in a 300 bed hospital with 1500 people employed..I’m sure your well up for it
@Paul Murphy: It’s frightening to think about all that waste within an organisation. Most of those clowns in the higher ranks wouldn’t hold down a job in a sweet shop. I know of a man who got promoted to a high level within the prison service and the man can’t read or write. It is not what you know. It is who you know in this hell hole.
@Patti o furniture: Why is 45 K overpaid?
@David Corrigan: its endemic in all state sectors because no one is seen to be picking up the tab. Public finances are,a bottomless pit
@Paul Murphy: 45 k nice earner. Try earning that working for yourself. You are all delusional. Consultants earn 250 k for a 30 hour week plus all their side money too from private health care.
@The Equalizer: I invite to try my job at that pay grade and feel valued…
@Paul Murphy: who are these 60 people that you are managing? Just out of interest.
@Robin Pickering: porters and security
@Paul Murphy: but they aren’t running…. they are in disarray. Hospitals are frightening places. How is that right? You cannot defend the indefensible. Figures do not lie. Every person residing in this country has a horror story regarding hospital experience. The HSE is inept. My advice to you? Try harder. 2 years ago my daughter was admitted for suspected viral meningitis. She finally got a bed in UHL after 4 days on a trolley in a corridor. It took NINE hours to move her into her bed….. because there was no one available to clean and dress the bed? I offered to dress it myself but was told that’s a breach of protocol lol
Very sad to watch the news last night and to listen to that nurse who cried because of the over crowding in A&E departments. I know the health port folio is not an easy one and never has been but Simon you need to get a grip. People are dying, old people left on trolleys. Its nearly at a point where the whole system will collapse. Money can be found for nearly everything else at a moments notice. Put it where it is needed. Its embarrassing to listen to this day after day.
Know a lot of staff working in the CUH who will not get the flu vaccine, madness
THE HSE SHOULD BE DISBANDED NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
@Marianne: It still will have to cope with the same level of medical needs, require the same administration and get the same money. You could end up in the same place.
Does this happen in any other Country I wonder? The whole health service shut down over the flu that arrives the same every year? I don’t see it plastered over the BBC or ITV that hospitals are asking people to stay away because of the flu
@David Garland: Yes, it happens all over the world, drama queens like youself claiming the whole health service has shut down, which is patently untrue. All that’s happening is the HSE is asking people not to turn up at an A&E if you have the flu. If you are seriously worried about yourself or a relative your GP should be your first port of call. Failing that, call the ambulance service. Crews are trained well enough to be able to determine if you need hospital treatment. It’s common sense stuff. If you have flu but are well enough to walk through the A&E doors, then you should not be there !! The fact you feel like shlte is neither an accident nor an emergency.
@Tommy Roche: “Drama Queen” Tell that you the Children in Crumlin who had to miss out on Chemotherapy before Christmas because the flu shut down that hospital
@David Garland: and if the children had attended the hospital with a flu out break on going it could have killed them. That’s risk management and a good call
@Paul Murphy: You think Chemotherapy is cancelled at every flu outbreak? Chemotherapy was cancelled because the hospital couldn’t cope and had no beds for the cancer patients.. It’s not a good call to cancer chemotherapy.. Goes to show what you know
@David Garland: Do you work in a hospital that provides oncology services.
.cos I do and know what is told to people. I know the facts of day to day running of services first hand. Oncology patients are first to be considered in such instances and Oncology facilities are isolated from normal activities for such events. Transmission based precautions are a priority to patients in receipt of chemotherapy as their immune system is already compromised.
HSE : stay away from hospitals if you are sick….u might infect the middle management and H&S staff.
@Paul Whitehead: Staff are already snuffling and sneezing, they’re very generous that way..
If they decentralised the HSE, with more clinics around the country and Hospitals reserved for major issues, this would be less of a problem.
@Stephen Ramsey: they do have clinics around the country but they are over crowded with people on waiting lists for services! Obviously you have never been in one, I was in one before christmas waiting to see a consultant with a special needs person for 4 hours. It’s the same everytime we go to an appointment and I can assure you its no joke waiting for 4 hours at a time with a special needs person.
@Stephen Ramsey: No it wouldn’t work as the larger more central areas suck in all the funding and prime people as people on the career ladder NCHDs and the like want to be wise to the major centres where the learning is to be had
How many people showing up with flu did not get the flu vaccination ?
Prevention is better than cure.
A bit of root cause analysis would be good rather than just the usual political footballing.
@Nioe: It actually doesn’t matter how many got the vaccine or not as they are treated the same once through the door. As the vaccine is voluntary there is no way of knowing as there is no link between the GPs and Pharmacies providing the vaccine and the hospitals. Hospitals are not the places to provide vaccinations. People need to stop using Hospitals like GP surgeries just because they can’t get instant access to their GP.
People should stop racking their brains on how to solve the health crisis because is obvious the governments over the years do not want a resolution.
The ED is a tap to feed patients into the main hospital. They can can turn on and off this tap as they want to control costs.
The solution is there if they want it, that’s more hospitals and more staff.
Unfortunately the work practices in the public health system are so archaic and inefficient that the the costs of doing this would be astronomical. We already pay more into the health system than most EU countries but have a much worse service provided.
The politicians are happy to muddle along and wring their hands about how bad the system is every year for as far as I can remember.
However private hospitals work very well they have to.
@John Legat: If ED s were used as the name suggests we wouldn’t have half the problem..at the other end the sites we have chosen to retain hospitals don’t allow for the expansion and growth we need. Capital budgets need to be ring fenced and facilities up headed. No one is talking of the impending crises where Hiqa will refuse to license existing facilities because of the nature of the layout and accommodation and all in the near future but yet older hospitals are not being upgraded while the new children’s hospital sucks the life out of budgets
@Paul Murphy: this whole problem with A&E as it was called then and ED now started in the 1980’s. Then as a result of FF nearly bankrupting the country again there was a severe recession and huge unemployment and emigration.
One of the measures introduced was the closure of many hospitals with ED departments. There was in Dublin, Baggot Street hospital, Dr Stephens hospital, Sir Patrick Dunn’s, Adelaide hospital all closed with others around the country. There has never been a recovery from that and the population now has increased to just 5 million.
There wasn’t a problem before all these hospitals were closed.
Soooo, the flu vaccination is not effective?
@John Tierney: The uptake of the flu is not as high as it could be and a lot of people are not able to have it because of pre existing conditions. Flu us air borne and there fore unlike norovirus is very difficult to prevent transmission. Visiting bans are a last resort and are there to protect the patient and at least attempt to minimize the transmission. You may visit the hospital not suffering from flu but can be a carrier and infect a compromised patient. Thus is where people fail to understand their part in the cycle
@Paul Murphy: HSE spokesman? You seem to be.
@John Tierney: No just pissed off with people attacking the people I work with and painting us to be part of the problem. People in hospitals work damn hard to try make life for better. Bad enough having the upper echelons not knowing what goes on in hospitals when you have the public shouting about what we do and don’t do
Spent 9 hours in Tralee General on the 27th of Dec and then 16 hours the following day after ringing an ambulance. It was totally chaotic with people. There were only 2 doctor’s available on Saturday. That is simply not good enough. The HSE is simply not fit for purpose. More beds is not a solution. Education of people in what is termed an emergency is one.
The HSE cause the flu numbers to be high with their stupid advice for EVERYONE TO GET VACINE…only people at risk should hv it..
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