A round-up of this week's health news in brief.
Boundary behind private hospital
Boundary Capital, the investment firm led by Niall McFadden, said yesterday it had a 60 per cent stake in Synchrony Healthcare, a firm set up to build a private hospital on the grounds of St James's Hospital in Dublin.
Synchrony Healthcare has signed an agreement with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and St James's under the Government's co-location programme. The deal will see it build a new facility providing 195 inpatient beds, 72 outpatient beds and eight operating theatres.
Under the terms of the agreement, Synchrony Healthcare has been granted a 65-year lease.
St James's Hospital is one of the eight designated national cancer centres and provides national clinical specialties in a wide range of areas.
'Bleak Christmas' for home residents
The closure of Bethany Home in Carlow signals a "bleak Christmas" for its 26 residents, the Labour spokeswoman on health Jan O'Sullivan claimed last night. Residents of the home were "left shocked" late last week, after a HSE representative told them that it was closing, she said in a statement.
"It has been suggested that the home is to close as it needs a radical refurbishment to comply with current Health and Safety standards," she said.
She called on the health service to explain why the home was closing and to "immediately engage with the home's residents and their families to put a care plan in place".