Galway's public hospital boss owns private MRI facility

By Darragh McDonagh

The Clinical Director of Galway’s public hospitals has been called on to consider his position after it emerged that he is a stakeholder in a private MRI Imaging Centre that has an exclusive agreement with the HSE to provide services to Galway University Hospitals (GUH).

Dr David O’Keeffe has been accused of having an untenable conflict of interests after the Connacht Tribune revealed that he is a partner in a private medical imaging centre located on public land within the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital.

A HSE spokesperson this week confirmed that Dr O’Keeffe made a declaration regarding his private practice interests relating to Merlin Park Imaging Centre and continuing practice at Bon Secours Hospital prior to his appointment as Clinical Director for acute services and continuing care in Galway and Roscommon.

Records show that he signed an agreement with the regional health authority in 2003 that restricts Galway’s two public hospitals from using the services of any other private medical imaging provider other than the one of which he is a partner.

The lucrative contract was awarded to Dr O’Keeffe and eight other medical professionals calling themselves the Merlin Park Radiology Group without a competitive tendering process contrary to current public procurement guidelines.

The agreement means that the Clinical Director of Galway’s public hospitals inadvertently benefits from an inability to cut waiting lists for medical imaging scans because public patients are referred to his group’s private facility at the expense of the taxpayer if they are left waiting for a sufficiently long period.

There were more than 1,860 people awaiting an MRI scan for up to 18 months at University Hospital Galway (UHG) at the end of last year, while a further 1,700 were waiting to have an ultrasound.Public patients in Galway can expect to wait 15 months for an MRI scan at present, but if a patient can afford to pay around €500 at Dr O’Keeffe’s private imaging centre, they can undergo a scan and have results within 24 hours.

There is only one public MRI scanner in Galway, located at UHG, but this is not utilised at full capacity despite calls from members of the Regional Health Forum as far back as 2008 to extend its operating hours.

There are three private MRI scanners located in Galway but the city’s public hospitals are restricted from using the services of any private facility other than Dr O’Keeffe’s by virtue of the agreement.Cllr Colm Keaveney, a member of the Regional Health Forum, has called on the Clinical Director to consider his position in light of the revelation and accused John Hennessy, HSE regional director of operations, of protecting Dr O’Keeffe by declining to answer a question on the matter last month.

“There is a blatant and untenable conflict of interests whereby the Clinical Director has a vested interest in ensuring that the public health system fails,” he said.

The land at Merlin Park on which the imaging centre is situated is leased to Dr O’Keeffe’s group for less than €180 a week. The bill for utilities such as telephone and electricity, as well as access to a multi-million euro IT system, is footed by the taxpayer.

Read more in this week's Connacht Tribune