THE BOARD of Tallaght hospital in Dublin is to be slimmed down and its existing charter replaced by way of legislation as part of major changes to its governance arrangements.
As part of the reforms, the Government it to provide additional funding to the hospital which is facing a financial deficit of about €11 million.
The pluralist values set out in the existing hospital charter are to be retained in legislation to be introduced by the Government.
Details of the changes to the hospital’s governance arrangements were set out last night in a joint statement issued by its president, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Dr Michael Jackson, its board and Minister for Health James Reilly.
The statement said the reforms to the governance structures at the hospital would take place in two phases.
An interim board of the hospital is to be appointed imminently with a reduced membership. In the longer term the existing hospital charter will be replaced by legislation.
“The unique history of Tallaght hospital, combining as it does [in the form of a charter] the identity of three separate foundations [the Meath Foundation, the Adelaide Hospital Society and the National Children’s Hospital], has resulted in a governance structure which is ultimately no longer properly suited to the modern complexities of running an academic teaching hospital of such a scale.”
It said the changes were considered essential for ongoing progress to be assured in the effective management of the hospital “in the manner that gives the greatest assurance that the patients get the best possible service from the available resources”.
Dr Reilly said last night the voluntary status of Tallaght hospital would remain in place under the reforms.
“The values and principles of openness and inclusiveness in all aspects of healthcare provision, relating to medicine, nursing and research, shall be maintained by the president of the hospital as also will be the principles of pluralism, freedom of conscience and freedom to practise religion in the hospital.”
The statement said the agreement on the reforms followed intensive discussions involving the hospital board, the hospital president, the Minister, the Department of Health and the HSE since last August.
A 2009 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers recommended the size of the hospital board be reduced from 23 to eight to 12 people. A recent inquiry chaired by Dr Maurice Hayes into how 3,498 GP letters were not processed properly at the hospital and how nearly 58,000 X-rays went unreported between 2006 and 2009 concurred with this view.