IRELAND
Irish Times
There is no “plan B” if the proposed move of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) to St Vincent’s Hospital does not go ahead, Minister for Health Simon Harris has admitted.
Mr Harris said there was no other hospital in the geographical area that could be used to accommodate the NMH and deliver co-location with adult services.
Speaking to reporters in Galway, the Minister said he did not believe changes were needed to the agreement reached between the two hospitals last November about relocating the maternity hospital.
While he had not changed his mind about the agreement reached between two voluntary hospitals, this did not take away from his legal and contractual responsibility to protect the rights of the State and the taxpayer.
“Just because they have a robust agreement doesn’t negate my responsibility to ensure the clinical independence of the hospital is underpinned in contracts and our financial investment is protected.”
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