A Southern Health Board member who has been refused a breakdown of private and public surgical procedures carried out by individual consultants in the board's hospitals, is to bring the matter before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children.
Deputy Bernard Allen's motion that a report be provided stating figures for in-patient and outpatient waiting lists and waiting periods "and that statistics be provided for private and public surgical procedures and other treatment procedures in each speciality by each consultant in all our health board hospitals" has twice been before the board, having been deferred in August.
Mr Allen was denied the latter part of his request.
He says he will now ask the Oireachtas committee to examine a situation "where the Southern Health Board is refusing to release information to its directors".
An amendment not to disclose details of individual consultants' work on the grounds that it might lead to a breach of contract and to the board being sued by consultants was carried at this month's meeting. A majority voted with the chairman, Mr Batt O'Keeffe, not to disclose the information on legal grounds. Mr O'Keeffe is also chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.
The onus is on the board to accept its solicitor's advice, Mr O'Keeffe said. But Mr Allen says he has contradictory legal advice.
He has also submitted a Freedom of Information request.
"The suppression of this information is unacceptable. If this closed-shop type of secret service is allowed to continue it means health boards are being dominated by vested interests. We are not being allowed information as to what is going on in public hospitals funded by the taxpayer," he says.
Where there are allegations by members of the public that there are two sets of waiting lists in public hospitals and a two-tier system in health board hospitals, he has to ensure this is or is not the case, Mr Allen said.
Mr O'Keeffe said yesterday it was a matter for Mr Allen to put down a motion for the committee on health and children and it would then be considered by the committee.